I've done Asset Management(4+ years) for a Fannie Mae REO company. First I'll address the rekey fee. Fannie requires their managing agent to rekey the property prior to or at closing and charge this fee(whatever it may be) to the buyer. Sometimes they have set rekey fees in the contract but most of the time it's whatever the cost the listing agent gets for the rekey. And it has to be done for their exterior doors. the only exception is if they can't rekey like it seems is Xing Zhu's case so they shouldn't have charged you.
But if it's not done or can't be done then you'll actually have to work to get this removed but you're going to have to fight for it depending on the asset manager/agent/and REO company you're dealing with this may be easier said then done. At the end of the day you have to ask yourself if your sanity is worth the 150. I've removed plenty of them in my day and will do it any time it's brought up and is a legitimate reason.
As for the deed restriction it's a fannie mae policy to be on all of their investor contracts. It is because of their government relationship. It's usually only a 3 month restriction so just set it to record the day after and you're fine. They do this to pull the home off the market as the government's intention is to get homes off the market not just give it to another person to sell at a higher price. No way to have it removed and if an asset manager is doing this they are hurting their REO companies relationship with Fannie and risking their company losing the account. It's a huge NO-NO!
Hope that's helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions.
I didn't read through all the previous posts sorry if I repeated anything.
