Freddie Mac - Multiple Offers

[Christian Carson]

I was just advised of a multiple offer situation and was asked for my highest and best offer from Freddie Mac.

I've read several accounts of how Freddie Mac allegedly operates (including one statement that they don't ask for highest best) and they all seem to conflict.

I am fairly certain that my bid will be the highest on this one, but there are certain things that Freddie is doing that is causing me hangups. I'm hoping that someone experienced with Freddie's operations can shed some light on what the best move is here.

The city in which the subject property is located performs a point-of-sale ("POS") inspection on all properties to be sold. The POS requires that certain violations be fixed, and that the buyer put a certain amount of money into escrow to fix them. Freddie, for some reason, probably a nefarious one, put the house up for sale before this inspection was conducted. It's expected to be in hand by sometime in February.

This escrow number can be anywhere from $1000 - $50,000 depending on what they want you to do. I've seen them require new driveways, garages, concrete pads, etc., which can add up to be really big bucks that we investors wouldn't normally ever spend (who cares about driveways? Let them go to gravel!)

To keep my peace of mind I want to put a contingency in the contract, or at least a longer inspection period that encompasses the time the inspection results are supposed to arrive.

Question: Is asking for any of these going to blow my "highest & best" status with Freddie? Will they throw my offer out because it has a 20-day inspection period, a 45-day close, or a contingency based on review of the POS inspection?

I think there are at least two other buyers with offers in. I'm going to wager at least one of them doesn't know about the POS inspection or will neglect to plan for it. I don't want to lose this property (it's a tremendous deal) but I don't want to commit to losing my EMD if the POS comes back at some sky-high number!