Worcester, MA · Member since 2012 · 14 posts · 2 votes
Hi,
Where could one find the fannie mae requirements for owner occupier bidding?
I am looking for a second home in a beach community where I would split my time between my existing residence and the new house. I would be at the second home at least 4 days a week. On the other side I am interested in this as an investment property and generating a decent return in a 1-2 year period.
I've been trying to pick up a fanne mae reo and have lost the last 2 houses I made offers on to owner occupier bids, 4 more my offer was never was looked at since it was outside the 15 day first look period. It seems that anything decent to renovate and generate quite a bit of equity fast goes quick. Just this last week the house we put in an offer was a complete gut job went to a cash offer, owner occupied. NO ONE could could have lived there and renovated.
Scenario
789 Elm Street, a Fannie Mae REO property, was listed on the market for only four days when the listing broker, Andrew, received an offer for this property. Andrew learned in corresponding with the buyer that she intended to use the property as a vacation home and not a primary residence; however, Andrew neglected to communicate this information to his Fannie Mae Sales Representative and allowed the buyer to submit the offer as an owner occupant. Motivated by his interest to close the deal without additional delays due to First Look™ restrictions, Andrew had the buyer sign the Owner Occupant Certification and indicated this in Section 4 of the Real Estate Purchase Addendum as well.
Analysis
This sequence of events represents a type of fraud categorized as "First Look Misrepresentations." Only owner occupants purchasing as a primary residence and buyers using public funds can purchase a property during the First Look Marketing Period, which corresponds to the first 15 days of listing in all states except Nevada (which has a 30 day Marketing Period). Investor offers may only be considered after the first 15 full days on the HomePath website, when the First Look™ countdown clock is no longer displayed. Fannie Mae defines a buyer purchasing a property for use as a second home as an investor and therefore, ineligible during the First Look™ marketing period. Brokers are responsible for accurately representing the buyer type and may be directed to question the buyer's motivation for occupying.
In the case described above, the listing broker was obligated to submit the offer as an investor offer, notify the buyer that the offer was rejected, and document this activity in the system. Once the First Look™ countdown clock no longer displays on Day 16, the broker should notify the buyer's agent to resubmit if the property is still available.
Resolution
Fannie Mae does not tolerate brokers or their agents participating in any sort of fraudulent behavior. Internal teams are dedicated to monitoring and investigating reports or evidence of suspicious activity. In the event it is uncovered that a Fannie Mae broker is a party to any such prohibited conduct, the broker may be subject to termination and the case may be reported to the agency responsible for investigating and prosecuting such cases.
ACTION!
Understanding First Look™
Brokers are not only responsible for understanding and complying with the timelines and regulations of the First Look™ program, but also for supporting and communicating the "spirit" of the initiative. The First Look™ program continues to be an important contributor in the mission to stabilize neighborhoods. By allowing this period for owner occupants, some non profits, as well as public entities and their partners to submit offers and purchase properties without competition from investors, Fannie Mae encourages home ownership and helps to build stronger communities.
To learn more about the First Look™ program, please review the REO Sales Guide and training materials available on the HomePath resources page. If you have any questions, contact your Fannie Mae Sales Representative or Asset Manager.
Contact Fannie Mae
Suspected REO fraud must be reported to Fannie Mae immediately. It is your responsibility as a broker or agent of Fannie Mae to report suspected REO fraud. Following are two avenues for reporting:
1. Phone Fannie Mae at 1-800-7FANNIE (1-800-732-6643)
2. Report the information via e-mail: [email protected] For more information, additional resources are also available Fannie Mae's Mortgage Fraud Resources page. To navigate to the page yourself, visit www.efanniemae.com and click on "Preventing Mortgage Fraud" in the bottom right hand corner of the web page.
In addition to reporting the suspected fraud to Fannie Mae, we encourage you to report the information to your local real estate board or state licensing authority. Your assistance in fighting REO fraud is greatly appreciated.
I too have missed out on a few properties during the first look period - some of which I suspected were purchased by investors. It is frustrating but, as many have posted, not frustrating enough for me to bend (or break) the rules. Just not how I do business (or how I want my children to see me doing business).
I saw this thread and was compelled to reply. I'm looking at a Fannie Mae property now as an O/O. I currently own an existing home, and lived here over 20 years. It's the only place I ever bought in my life, as a standard real estate transaction. Not as a subsidized government handout. The FNMA home went up for sale in my town nearby. It's in rough shape but has more land with it, and some outbuildings I need. I called FNMA a number of times to get the rules straight. I have never rented or flipped a house in my life, and want nothing to do with it. But I will have to sell my existing home, if I get the FNMA home. No way can I keep both, nor would I want to- one is enough. A house is nothing but a big burden anymore, face it. We all rent them from the counties we live in, even if they are paid off- via the property taxes.
I'd be using my existing home equity line to help fund the FNMA home purchase. They put me on hold on the phone, and looked into it, then came back on the line- and said no problem. As long as I move into the FNMA home in 60 days, and do not sell or rent it for one year, no problem. I then said, I'll have to put my current existing home on the market for sale, after I move into the FNMA home. Again they said again, NO PROBLEM. My current home has a homestead exclusion, but the county currently is not declaring it for our township, so we don't get a discount on taxes anyway. I would be applying for homestead on the FNMA home after I move in, and cancelling it from my existing current home at that time, if my existing home is not already sold. No biggie. Just because someone owns 2 homes temporarily during a residence transition, doesn't mean they're in violation of anything ! I see some replies on this thread, that sound like crybabies whining over the fact, they lost out on investment homes, cuz they bid too low ! If you want to win the house, then ante up. Bid 2x the asking price, if need be. If you can't oh well, someone else has more money than you, so just accept it. I'm on a very limited budget, if I miss the house to someone else, I don't care ! It' s not the last house on the planet, and we don't live forever anyway. I see some getting a bit too carried away trying to win these homes, like some sort of competition. They're sore cuz they wanted to make money on a flip themselves ! If that's what home ownership means to you, perhaps you need to rethink it. The minute the government gets involved in any market, and starts buying up repo'd homes for $200k, and listing them for $100k, this is what happens. And this was created in the first place, by over-appraising homes, writing big loans, on homes that were only worth 1/3 to 1/2 the sale price in the first place. Remember 2008 ? Now we have whiners still fighting for their freebie- fighting over the REPO'D HOMES, that are in reality still over-valued double what they are worth- when they don't get them, they resort to reporting each other ? reporting the other guy for an alleged violation, won't win you the house. the truth is, the bad karma from being such a jerk yourself, will only haunt your future endeavors even more. that's really immature. maybe they should just cut the FNMA program, and sell the homes directly to the public, whoever it is. stop all government intervention in the market across the board- that's what I'd like to see. Because if this is what's going on, it's a lame program. I never heard of anything so silly, as reporting people for buying a house, cuz you didn't bid high enough on it. Maybe you should just go into the regular market and just bid on homes without any government intervention then....