Purchasing Fannie Mae HomePath, Getting Their Attention Early

[William Coet]

Hello,

A relative wants to buy a fannie mae homepath home for owner occupancy.   The home has not yet been listed, but we know the realtor who will be lisitng it.  We contacted the realtor today and he said it should be listed within a week.  Our questions are as follows:

1.  Is there anything we can do to get our offer in first (have an offer filled out with realtor prior to listing, etc) and catch the attention of fannie mae by making it more desirable than potential competition for the property (cash offer, proof of funds, etc)?

2.  Does Fannie Mae have a waiting period while they review offers?

3. Does Fannie Mae have a percentage lower than the listing price that they typically accept? (I remember HUD doing this).

Thank you, and any suggestions for getting an early offer into Fannie Mae that they will accept would be greatly appreciated!

[Brenda B.]

Hey William- we have been waiting months for two Fannie Mae properties to become available. It actually took all summer for one of them to show on the site but both state “coming soon.” We are in close touch with both realtors, along with the neighbors of the houses. We’ve called Fannie Mae and have been told that it’s a process and there’s nothing they can do so keep checking the site and stay in touch with the realtors. I spoke with a different realtor who used to handle Fannie Mae homes and he, along with the current agents, states that there is no rhyme or reason to what Fannie Mae does. He said they will have several offers on a home, one cash offer, another $500 over the cash offer but the buyers will be financing, and Fannie Mae will accept the offer requiring financing. He said that he’s seen Fannie Mae houses listed by out of state agents- it just depends on the roll of the dice and it’s a weird process. From my research, and from living your situation most of this year, I can hopefully save you some time and frustration by letting you know what we’ve learned. If you find out some secret, please pass it along because I really really really want these properties. :-) 

[William Coet]

@Brenda B. I wonder if Fannie Mae prefers if buyers finance because they can carry the mortgage or benefit somehow from the buyer getting a mortgage?

[Brenda B.]

That's a great question and could explain the reasoning for some of their decisions- however, from the little I've been able to learn about them, I'm not sure if anyone is in charge and if so, even cares about decisions made.  We've been waiting impatiently for two properties to become active and it's been months. Each property is serviced by a different realtor, and neither knows what is going on, they just wait like the rest of us. I called Fannie Mae and the person I spoke with said that the only thing I can do is check the website, that there is no further info. Both houses were owned/lived in by men in their 90's, who both passed away, then the houses were foreclosed on. (I am suspicious that they each were victims of the reverse mortgage scam.) Both houses were a complete mess- so much hoarding by both of them. A mystery person hired two separate entities to clean up each property, and both "businesses" have done a terrible job that is still not even close to complete. It seems that this could be an opportunity to rake in some serious cash from the government for doing very little work, and nobody verifying the quality/completion of the work. Both houses could have been cleared out and sold months ago, but instead, they're sitting vacant, the govt is paying the taxes and not recouping any of their (our) money. If you find out any more info, I'd appreciate it if you could pass it along- I'm tempted to contact my senator, who ends all of his communication with "if you need help with a federal agency..." I told my husband that it seems like there's a person somewhere with a pile of paperwork on his/her desk, who slowly works through the pile, but no one knows who this person is and no one in the govt really cares. :-) 

[William Coet]

As an update, I spoke with a realtor who does "alot" of fannie mae foreclosures and he said that fannie mae prefers a cash offer.  He said a financed offer usually means a slower closing.  It is ironic that they suddenly become concerned about closing speed after sitting on these houses for months and sometimes years.