A question on Fannie Mae foreclosed homes

[John M.]

About a year ago, I found a boarded up house in not the best of neighborhoods, and I nailed a "we buy houses" sign to the boarded window. I've done this a few times and they generally lead to calls from retail buyers looking to purchase the property. Not much help there.

But today, I got a call from a realtor saying they were taking my sign down, asked politely that I not put signs on Fannie Mae homes, and then she said its a foreclosure and if I'd like to buy it I should contact her.

The home is not listed yet, so what does this process look like? The realtor said there would be an appraisal & they would likely ask for as is value, but she said she'd put me in a file and email me as soon as she gets the go ahead and we'd negotiate from there. For perspective this is a dump with a caved in roof and a tree growing through the middle of it. Fun stuff.

For Fannie Mae homes, does it have to be available to the public before sending it to one investor like myself who gets in early? Or do I have the opportunity to have an offer accepted before it hits MLS, home path, etc?

Can these deals be wholesaled, or is there generally no inspection / due diligence time? Can that be negotiated with Fannie & would there be a (refundable) security deposit required? 

[Wayne Brooks]

You have to wait for it to be listed. There is an inspection period.  Assigning is not allowed, reselling for more than 120% of your purchase price is prohibited fro 90 days.