Fannie Mae Offers New Incentives…

The Real Story…

News and commentary about the real estate market and related topics.

Dave Parrish, ABR®, CRSA, CSP, GRI, ePRO®,REALTOR ®, RealtySouth

The opinions expressed here are my own and don’t necessarily represent those of HomeServices South.

Fannie Mae Offers New Incentives…

Yes the Tax Credits are gone (except for returning vets* see note below) but in an effort to move its huge inventory of “re-claimed” properties, Fannie Mae announced new incentives for buyers and selling agents of its homes.

As of Fannie Mae’s latest quarterly report (June 30, 2010), Fannie was holding a burgeoning inventory of 129,310 properties.

The company acquired 68,838 single-family real estate owned properties through foreclosure in the second quarter of 2010, compared with 61,929 in the first quarter of 2010. As of June 30, 2010, the company’s inventory of single-family real estate owned properties was 129,310, compared with 109,989 as of March 31, 2010. The carrying value of the company’s single-family REO was $13.0 billion, compared with $11.4 billion as of March 31, 2010.

Source: Fannie Mae Quarterly Report June 30, 2010.

In an effort to right the ship, Fannie is offering the following incentives to Buyers of their homes (their foreclosures) and to the agents selling the homes:

Qualified homebuyers who will be owner-occupants can receive up to 3.5 percent of the final sales price that can be used toward closing cost assistance, including a home warranty, if available. In addition, selling agents representing owner-occupants will receive a $1,500 bonus.

To qualify for these incentives, eligible offers must be submitted on or after September 23, 2010, and must close by December 31, 2010. The sale must close within 60 days of the offer being accepted.

For a list of eligible properties visit Fannie’s REO website, HomePath.com.

HomePath properties are owned by Fannie Mae and include a wide selection of homes, including single-family homes, condominiums, and town houses. HomePath properties may also be eligible for special HomePath Mortgage and HomePath Renovation Mortgage financing.

Now there will doubtless be a stream of critics of this program claiming that this is simply another government bailout or it will falsely create activity in the market place only to cause a period of inactivity thereafter. In truth, neither is true.

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