Short Sale Assistance Desk Fact Sheet Introduction November 4, 2010 In cooperation with Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) across the nation, Fannie Mae developed the Short Sale Assistance Desk ( Assistance Desk ) to assist real estate professionals in handling post-offer short sale issues that may relate to servicer responsiveness, the existence of a second lien, or issues involving mortgage insurance. The Assistance Desk leverages the relationship between the participating MLSs and their members to collect and submit information to Fannie Mae using a dedicated submission form on the MLS website. Complementing this streamlined service, the participating MLS provides Fannie Mae with data to help improve valuations and make quicker decisions regarding short sale requests. The Assistance Desk is meant to serve as a backstop to empower real estate professionals in those cases where the normal approval channel has bogged down, and where Fannie Mae s intervention may serve as a catalyst for progress towards a resolution. The Assistance Desk is not intended to replace the normal approval channels, nor is it intended to serve as a compliance or enforcement function or as a potential appeal for decisions the real estate professional believes to be unfavorable. Specific guidelines for eligible cases are provided below: Eligibility Criteria Property must have a first-lien loan owned by Fannie Mae. Only post-offer issues can be submitted. The servicer must be in receipt of a valid offer for the property. Real estate professional must be a member of a participating MLS. Real estate professional must be the listing agent for the property. Real estate professional must obtain a signed Borrower Authorization Form (BAF) from the homeowner(s) and submit it to the MLS. Submission Guidelines Real estate professional must first make a reasonable effort to resolve the issue by working through the servicer. Real estate professional may submit the case in the event the servicer has not provided: an initial response within 20 days, a final property valuation within 30 days, a final decision or specific direction to facilitate a decision within 60 days from the original offer submission date, or if the real estate professional has received an approval from the servicer for the transaction, but either the mortgage insurer or second lien holder has imposed a closing condition that is not possible for the borrower to meet. 2011 Fannie Mae. 11.4.2010 1
Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk Frequently Asked Questions for Real Estate Professionals Q1. What is the Short Sale Assistance Desk? In cooperation with Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) across the nation, Fannie Mae developed the Short Sale Assistance Desk ( Assistance Desk ) to assist real estate professionals in handling post-offer issues that may relate to servicer responsiveness, the existence of a second lien, or issues involving mortgage insurance. Q2. How does the Assistance Desk work? The Assistance Desk leverages the relationship between the participating MLSs and their members to collect and submit information to Fannie Mae using a dedicated submission form on the MLS website. Complementing this streamlined service, the participating MLS provides Fannie Mae with data to help improve valuations and make quicker decisions regarding short sale requests. Q3. What are the benefits for real estate professionals? The Assistance Desk is an escalation procedure which may help facilitate and streamline the short sale process in closing short sales. It is meant to serve as a backstop to empower real estate professionals in those cases where the normal process has slowed down or stalled and where Fannie Mae s intervention may serve as a catalyst for progress towards a resolution. Q4. How long does it take to get a short sale problem resolved? A real estate professional will receive an initial response within one week confirming that the case has been reviewed. The response will verify whether or not the case meets the submission requirements and if it will be further escalated. It is expected to take at least one week to escalate a case, but may take several weeks, particularly for mortgage insurance or second lien related cases. If a case extends beyond two weeks, Fannie Mae will provide status updates as available. Please note that neither the MLS nor Fannie Mae can guarantee a positive resolution to a short sale case. Q5. What are the eligibility guidelines for short sale cases? The Assistance Desk will only accept cases meeting the following eligibility criteria: The property must have a first-lien loan owned by Fannie Mae; Only post-offer issues can be submitted (the servicer must be in receipt of a valid offer for the property); The real estate professional must be a member of a participating MLS; The real estate professional must be the listing agent for the property; and The real estate professional must obtain a signed Borrower Authorization Form (BAF) from the homeowners and submit it to the MLS. 2011 Fannie Mae. 11.4.2010 1
Q6. How can a real estate professional submit a short sale case for review? The real estate professional must first make a reasonable effort to resolve the issue by working through the servicer. The real estate professional may submit a case, using the dedicated form on their MLS website, in the event the servicer has not provided: An initial response within 20 days; A final property valuation within 30 days; A final decision or specific direction to facilitate a decision within 60 days from the original offer submission; or A case may also be submitted for review if the real estate professional has received an approval from the servicer for the transaction, but either the mortgage insurer or second lien holder has imposed a closing condition that is not possible for the borrower to meet. Note: The real estate professional must address all actionable requests from the servicer before submitting the issue. Q7. Does the Assistance Desk replace the normal approval process for Fannie Mae short sales? The Assistance Desk is not intended to replace the normal approval channels, nor is it intended to serve as a compliance or enforcement function or as a potential appeal for decisions the real estate professional believes to be unfavorable. Q8. How can a real estate professional confirm that a property is owned by Fannie Mae? The listing agent on a property can use Fannie Mae s Loan Lookup tool to determine if Fannie Mae owns the loan prior to completing the online questionnaire. The Loan Lookup tool can be accessed at the following URL: http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/. Q9. How can an MLS provide their subscribers with access to the Assistance Desk? Real estate professionals who are interested in having their MLS take advantage of the Assistance Desk should contact their local MLS directly. MLSs with questions regarding participation, specific guidelines, or other concerns should contact Fannie Mae at ssad_information@fanniemae.com for more details. 2011 Fannie Mae. 11.4.2010 2
Real estate professional must address all actionable requests from the servicer before submitting the issue. Where additional documentation is requested, servicer response time will be calculated starting on the date the real estate professional submitted the final documentation. How to Get Started Real estate professionals who are interested in having their MLS take advantage of the Assistance Desk should contact their local MLS directly. MLSs with questions regarding participation, specific guidelines, or other concerns should contact Fannie Mae at ssad_information@fanniemae.com for more details. 2011 Fannie Mae. 11.4.2010 2
Short Sale Assistance Desk Reference Aid Step 1: Eligibility Criteria Property must have a first-lien loan owned by Fannie Mae. Only post-offer issues can be submitted. The servicer must be in receipt of a valid offer for the property. You must be a member of a participating MLS. You must be the listing agent for the property. You must obtain a signed Borrower Authorization Form (BAF) from the homeowner(s) and submit it to your MLS. Step 2: Assistance Desk Guidelines You must first make a reasonable effort to resolve the i ssue by working through the servicer. You may submit your case in the event the servicer has not provided: o an initial response within 20 days, o a final property valuation within 30 days, o a final decision or specific direction to facilitate a decision within 60 days from the original offer submission date, o or, if you have received an approval from the servicer for your transaction, but the MI (or 2nd lien holder) has imposed a closing condition that is not possible for the borrower to meet. You must address all actionable requests from the servicer before submitting the issue, Where additional documentation is requested, servicer response time will be calculated from the date you submit the final documentation. Fannie Mae designed the Assistance Desk to assist participating MLS members in handling post-offer short sale issues related to servicer non-response, second lien, or mortgage insurance issues. By working together to resolve these issues and taking a closer look at the root causes, business practices may be further refined resulting in a more expeditious process. Fannie Mae Loan Lookup Pre-submission Conditions Borrower Authorization Form (BAF) Intake Questionnaire Form Step 3: Submission Instructions Use the Fannie Mae loan look up tool to confirm that Fannie Mae owns the loan for the property. Simply click on the link provided on your MLS s website or enter http://loanlookup.fa nniemae.com/loanlookup/ into your web browser and follow the directions to complete the process. You must be eligible to access the Assistance Desk and agree to abide by the guidelines. Prior to submitting your case, you must first submit a signed BAF to your MLS. You can download a blank copy from your MLS s website. When you are ready to proceed, sign into your MLS website and proceed to the Short Sale Assistance Desk information. Follow the directions to complete and submit the Intake Questionnaire form. Processing a nd Follow Up MLS will submit your case to Fannie Mae by close of business of the second business day after your Intake Questionnaire form and BAF are received. MLS will send you all communications from Fannie Mae by close of business of the second business day after the communication is received. Please note, a final response from Fannie Mae will take at least two weeks and may take several weeks or longer, particularly for MI or 2 nd lien issues. NOTE: Fannie Mae provides the Short Sale Assistance Desk as a value added service for MLS in the initiative and their participating members. However, participants do not have a special relationship and are not entitled to special privileges with Fannie Mae. The Short Sale Assistance Desk participants may not publish, or cause to have published, or make public use of Fannie Mae s name, logos, trademarks, or any information about its relationship with Fannie Mae without the prior written permission of Fannie Mae.
What MLS Execs and Industry Leaders Say About the Short Sale Assistance Desk The Short Sale Assistance Desk is helping real estate professionals across the country quickly resolve issues on Fannie Mae short sales that may arise after a short sale offer is made. The Short Sale Assistance Desk marks an important step toward helping homeowners and real estate professionals avoid the frustration, complexities, and delays that are so common in short sale transactions. ARMLS is pleased to be participating with Fannie Mae on the Short Sale Assistance Desk project. Arizona has been one of the hardest hit areas affected by the housing downturn. Anything we can do to facilitate the process of getting short sales approved will help both our agents and their buyers and sellers who only want to complete the sale, often to avoid foreclosure. We are happy to assist. Bob Bemis, CEO, Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) SSAD Can Help You Eliminate red tape Increase Revenue Resolve Issues Quickly Gain a single point of contact MRED exists to support our brokers and agents in the business of real estate. Our agents and their customers desperately need any help they can get in shortening the timeframe it takes to resolve short sale issues and get those transactions closed. Naturally, when an opportunity arises to incorporate a program such as the Short Sale Assistance Desk, we jump on it. It is certainly uplifting to be able to share some good news about the real estate industry. Fannie Mae needs to be highly commended for its efforts in this area. Russ Bergeron, CEO, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) MLS PIN is pleased to provide its customers with a valuable tool to assist with post-offer short sale issues. Our partnership with Fannie Mae will not only help to increase sales during a challenging economic time, but to expedite the process. Kathy Condon, President, MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN) MFRMLS is proud to partner with Fannie Mae as we both share the commitment to help ease the pain of short sale transactions. Our members have enjoyed great success with the Short Sale Assistance Desk so far, and we expect that to continue. In more than one case, our members have received almost instant responses and successfully closed troubleridden short sale transactions that had stood stagnant for months. This is a partnership that benefits our members and contributes to finding solutions. A relieved seller, new homeowners, a commission for the listing and selling brokerages and avoiding another foreclosure it s a win/win in our book! Merri Jo Cowen, CEO, My Florida Regional MLS (MFRMLS) The Assistance Desk is a powerful tool that can really help with the short sale process. Now, when our members accept short sale transactions, they can proceed with more confidence knowing there s an open communication channel with Fannie Mae if the process gets bogged down. We are fortunate that Fannie Mae is working with the MLSs to provide a tangible solution. Teresa King Kinney, CEO, Miami Association of REALTORS The California Association of REALTORS is pleased to partner with Fannie Mae on their Short Sale Assistance Desk initiative, an important resource that will help expedite a timely resolution of short sales transactions and eliminate the long approval delays REALTORS often cite as problematic with short sales. Joel Singer, CEO, California Association of REALTORS (C.A.R.) The Board of Trustees of NNRMLS immediately saw the value of implementing the Short Sale Assistance Desk. When a short sale transaction becomes stalled, it can become a situation where a seller and a buyer and a listing agent and a selling agent have all worked through negotiations and come to terms for a successful close only to lose everything as the property goes to foreclosure awaiting approval. If we can save even one transaction by providing this service, it will be a success. Shelley Specchio, CEO, Northern Nevada Regional MLS (NNRMLS) Tucson MLS is proud to partner with Fannie Mae in creating a solution to expedite and simplify the short sale process. This is a substantial benefit to our membership and the overall economy. Wes Wiggins, Vice President, Tucson Association of REALTORS Join the MLSs and thousands of other Real Estate Professionals throughout the country who already benefit from the Short Sale Assistance Desk. Contact us today at ssad_information@fanniemae.com
What Real Estate Professionals Say About the Short Sale Assistance Desk The Short Sale Assistance Desk is helping real estate professionals across the country quickly resolve issues on Fannie Mae short sales that may arise after a short sale offer is made. The Short Sale Assistance Desk marks an important step toward helping homeowners and real estate professionals avoid the frustration, complexities, and delays that are so common in short sale transactions. The Assistance Desk is fabulous. I love it. I have a 95% resolution rate on my short sale transactions. I don t understand why other agents are not using the Assistance Desk. This is a fantastic benefit from our MLS. ---Sylvester Harding, Orlando, FL SSAD Can Help You Eliminate red tape Increase Revenue Resolve Issues Quickly Gain a single point of contact This was a fantastic experience. Reps were helpful and responded quickly to e-mails and phone calls. We got this issue resolved quickly and painlessly---many thanks to Fannie Mae for this process! ---Michele Herndon, Tampa, FL The Fannie Mae Assistance Desk is amazing. I submitted a request Tuesday and had two calls from the lender the next day. I was in the field showing houses, but she called the second time because I had not called her back quickly--that s what I call responsive!--and she couldn t have been more helpful. ---Marty Hunt, Orlando, FL Once I submitted, Fannie Mae contacted me within two days, and within another two days told me what needed to be done to get the transaction closed. The staff at Fannie Mae was completely professional and gave great customer service. Believe it or not, this closed a mere three weeks after it was submitted to the Short Sale Assistance Desk; thanks to MRED for stepping up and providing this new service! --- Diana Jones, Chicago, IL The Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk helped my seller and me get results even after we felt like we had hit a dead end with the lien holder. We were at the point where we could not even get through on the phone and were about to give up hope. After we engaged the Assistance Desk, a senior negotiator from the lien holder contacted me, falling all over himself with apologies and promises to help. We had a short sale approval just 27 days later and my client is thrilled that he gets to open a new chapter in his life. ---Damian Janssen, Sparks, NV Every time I worked with the representative on the Assistance Desk, I had an excellent experience. If I can t get a short sale resolved using the normal channels, I always use the Assistance Desk. It works. ---Lisa Reeves, Orlando, FL I am absolutely convinced that without Fannie Mae s Short Sale Assistance Desk the short sale property would have gone to foreclosure sale the next day. I want to thank Fannie Mae s representatives for their attention, professionalism, and followthrough. My buyers and their agent, my client, and I are very grateful for your help. ---Bob Sewell, Zephyr Cove, NV Join the MLSs and thousands of other Real Estate Professionals throughout the country who already benefit from the Short Sale Assistance Desk. Contact us today at ssad_information@fanniemae.com