REPORTING FOR DUTY
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May
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Is Fannie Mae Turning Down Reasonable Bids For Foreclosed Property? (UPDATED+BUMPED)
May 7, 2009 | 7 Comments
UPDATED & BUMPED: See bottom of post.
This morning we received the following comment on a thread we posted last October entitled “Fannie Mae Foundation Documents – Discrimination Everywhere”
Try this on for size. We were trying to get a contract on a foreclosure that is owned by Fannie Mae. The asking price for the home was $290,000. The ome had no appliances, holes in the walls, exposed wiring, etc. We fell in love with the home and most of the things wrong we could repair ourselves. So we made some offers on the home. Our final offer was $278,500. Well, the declined all of our offers wanting $290,000 for the home. (all of this took place over the last few weeks). I went and looked to see if the home is still up for sale (we are under contract on another home now) and they are asking $268,900 for the home! This is almost $10,000 less than our last offer.We were already preapproved for more than what we were offering on the home, but Fannie Mae obviously has some kind of problem on accepting offers on this particular home. It has been on the market for almost 2 years and they decline offers on the home but then turn around and drop the homes price to below what the last counter offer was. Can you say discrimnation! We are white middle class Military family. Why would Fannie Mae decline an offer of $278,500 and then turn around and lower the price to $268,900??? Kind of makes you wonder how many other families they have done this to just to keep homes on their books. No wonder they needed a Federal Bailout! To top this off I have been trying to contact Fannie Mae to find out the reason behind this but of course you never get to speak to a representative and they NEVER return phone calls! Something is obviously very fishy with Fannie Mae. Maybe the government needs to take an even closer look!
Please correct our math if we are mistaken, but Fannie Mae refused an offer of 96.03% of the asking price??
And weeks later, they lower the price to below the offer they had on the table??
We contacted the author of this comment and requested any additional information she could provide about the property and her story. She responded by sending us the following url to the home in question.
She also provided more information on the process she says she went through:
We had placed bids on the house in September 2008, (it was listed at $339,900) they were declined. (The home was in foreclosure, the homeowners wanted to accept our offers but Fannie Mae said no.) The price on the home went down to $300,000 then down to $290,000 so we had our real estate agent contact them again with an offer and we countered back and forth but Fannie Mae would not come below $290,000 for the home so we declined.
Here is an excerpt from our realtor:Looks like we have hit a brick wall with FannieMae. They said their last counter offer was their final and best offer. It was $290,000 with $10000 closing cost assistance, 10-day inspection period, May 18 closing.
This was April 16, 2009, and we declined their counter offer.
I went and checked the Century 21 site a few days ago out of curiosity and see that they have lowered the price of the home to $268,900. This made me boiling mad. Why would they decline our final offer of $278,500 and turn around and reduce the price of the home just a few weeks later to $268,900?
Boiling mad indeed.
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin is reporting that Fannie Mae needs at least another $19 Billion.
The government-controlled company said its regulator requested $19 billion from the Treasury under a funding commitment that on Wednesday was doubled to $200 billion.
It all makes sense now. Fannie Mae doesn’t need to observe market forces when they know they can always count on tax dollars to bail them out. Too bad for the prospective buyer and the eager seller detailed above. Let them eat cake.
Comments
7 Comments so far
The reason that Fannie Mae does these types of things is because they aren’t really interested in selling these distressed properties. Fannie Mae is as crook as the banks that talked customers into these arm type home loans that has ruined our economy. Their is no sound business practices at Fannie, why, they are really a socialized organization owned, controlled by the govt with no concern for the masses or their struggles.
Yes is the answer — before I even read the story.
My story. I’m a lawyer, pro bono case. Clients live in home — think they are buying contract for deed. Owner loses home in foreclosure. Fannie Mae tells clients to get out (but can’t evict b/c they weren’t part of foreclosure)
Clients make an offer to buy the home from Fannie Mae after foreclosure. Home is in a horrible crime-ridden neighborhood. Offer – consulting with Fannie Mae’s realtor: $35,000, $500 earnest money in realtor’s hands. Clients have pre-approval letter for more than offer from a local bank; plus they have a grant for 20% down payment from City.
Fannie Mae rejects offer. LOWERS the purchase price, but wants $2,000 earnest money. They want 6% earnest money, in cash, from people who live in the house and have the financing ready to go. People who are buying a $35k house don’t usually have $1500 extra cash laying around.
Fannie Mae won’t budge; starts threatening clients with eviction. Won’t talk to me–won’t listen to their own realtor. I contact our Congressman (Aaron Schock). Fed gov’t bailout; Fannie Mae is being ridiculous; will you help? His office does — FM suddenly agrees to accept original offer. Clients get to stay in the home that they love.
Don’t even get me talking about the bullshit contract addendum Fannie Mae makes buyers sign.
End result: Fannie Mae sux; Aaron Schock gets a thumbs up. And we’re paying for all of it.
You think that’s bad? You should SEE the sorts of brokers who are getting Freddie Mac listings! The broker I worked with literally worked the bank, getting money from them on properties that she never repaired or improved. (Even though the broker turned in invoices to Freddie Mac- asking for repairs etc. The work was approved, and paid for by Freddie Mac, but never done.)
As a vendor who personally worked for this broker, I saw it all. The woman who runs her real estate office is a convicted felon who just changed her name to go under the radar. I reported her to Freddie Mac, for non-payment to vendors, even AFTER she was reimbursed by the bank. By the time I reported her, she owed me over $10,000.
All she got from Freddie was a little slap on the wrist! She was placed on suspension from getting new Freddie Mac listings for ONLY a period of 2-3 months. As well, she immediately fired me and my repo cleaning company for reporting her to Freddie Mac.
Today, this same low down, scum bag, thieving, lying broker- is back to doing the SAME thing! She is receiving MORE Freddie Mac listings and according to other employees, whom she also recently fired for reporting her to the DRE, she is back in action- still NOT paying her vendors and living off of Freddie Macs money to float her failing brokerage. Regardless of the facts, she is still getting even MORE listings from Freddie Mac!
Only now, as told to me from another fired employee from her office, to protect herself from further action and from having Freddie Mac find out what she is doing again… she is supposedly hiring illegal aliens to clean and trash out her listings! AND she is turning in inflated invoices through unlicensed and dummy companies, hoarding Freddie Macs money, while paying the people who actually DO the services on the properties- mere peanuts. She is making a bundle and STILL NOT paying vendors for their services! What can they do to get paid? Nothing, as they are unlicensed, illegal aliens and can only pray this thief will pay up.
The newly fired employees told me horror stories of the illegals coming into this rotten broker’s real estate office on almost a daily basis, asking if the bank had paid for the work yet and begging for money to make rent payments and feed their hungry families. It is sick. It is a total racket. And worse? Freddie Mac just doesn’t seem to care.
This is very interesting. Here is my long story I will try to make short. My wife and I found a house we loved. We got a contract on it with the owner for a short sale. The owner is now a single mom of 4 – dad left and did a quit claim deed to her. After 2 months of working with a good attorney and with the banks it turns out that Fannie declined the settlement (94 cents on the dollar). I quickly upped my bid to over the appraised value. Now Fannie will get 97 cents on the dollar. They agreed to look at the offer again. If they decline it will go to foreclosure later in the month. All involved are going crazy as to why they would decline this offer in a declining economy. Maybe I will have to contact our congressman like what was done above. Any insight is appreciated.
In reading these and other blogs it appears that Fannie Mae is similar to ACORN, and other government agencies. Maybe we can get O’Reilly and Glenn Beck on it. Good luck.
10/16/09
Since I read these comments about Fannie Mae, I am wondering about discremination from Fannie Mae also. A house that I have been watching for a year went through the foreclosure process and ended up with Fannie Mae This was not a cheap house. I offered, full price – cash – no contingencies – close in 15 days – and sent in prove of funds. They sent me a multible offer notifcation requesting a counter bid due to multible offers. I was to say the least shocked. I wonder how many people are offering full price, cash with no contingencies? Are they discreminating against me because I can afford the house and they want a minority or to finance the house. They were offering financing to buyers with 3% down ( that was in their comments on the listing sheet). Any thoughts on this will be appreciated. I did not counter. Don’t see yet that the house is in contract or sold.
two weeks ago I bid on a fannie mae foreclosure. it’s only a few years old. there is still new construction in the subdivision. the house is listed for 179,000. of course, it’s being sold “as is, no warranty, no disclosure” the microwave/vent is smashed. there is a 4′ hole in the ceiling where it looks like someone fell through. there are also brown spots on the ceiling in the dining room where there is probably a roof or water heater leak. it’s in pretty good condition for a foreclosure. I bid 93% of list and was just rejected. the problem is there are brand new houses on the next street for 184,000. it would take a complete idiot to pay within 5k of a new house to get “as is. maybe it works”. if their execs were depending on their own money, they would be moving these properties.