Full Commission on Fannie Mae Short Sales, Yeah!

I posted yesterday about all the hard work that goes into a short sale. Here is a comment from Angel:

Yes they say the average transaction take 150 calls. Yes thats right between home inspections pest reports, title companies and agents the average transaction takes 150 calls. Now add the bank calls which in our office is two or three times a week. It is disappointing to get our pay checks cut. Though here in our office its about taking care of our clients and in the end we get taken care.. Lots of Referrals!! Keep taking good care of the client.

Seems unfair to cut the commission of hard working short sale agents... but things are starting to change!

On February 24th, Fannie Mae in Servicing Guide Announcement 09-03 [Here is the PDF] said the following:

No Negotiation of Preforeclosure Sales Commission

Effective March 1, 2009, closing of preforeclosure sales may not be conditioned upon a reduction of the total commission to be paid to real estate agents to a level below what was negotiated by the listing agent with the borrower, unless the fee exceeds 6 percent of the sales price of the property in aggregate. Servicers are reminded that they must continue to obtain any approvals that may be required by interested third parties in connection with preforeclosure sales.

No more reduced commissions on Fannie Mae loans, yeah! I like how Bill Gassett's take on it on Massachusetts Real Estate Voice:

Fannie Mae has recognized that negotiating commissions for short sales is unfair because of the extensive work required in many occasions that occur over many months and working with numerous buyers. Paying real estate agents fairly benefits Fannie Mae because Realtors play a crucial role in short sales. The fact that many banks would turn around after a foreclosure and offer commissions much higher did not make much sense.

Well, we're all glad the industry is finally starting to realize the importance of rewarding hard-working short sale "angels" who are helping everybody, including the banks, to cut their losses!

Lets hope other banks and servicers follow suit.