Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Negotiated Short Sale By Real Estate Agent On Behalf Of Homeowner Facing Foreclosure Not A Violation Of Florida Foreclosure Rescue Law, Says State AG

Does Florida's new Foreclosure Fraud Protection Act(1) prohibit real estate licensees from being involved in short sales?

According to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, where the only remuneration sought by a real estate agent within the state in negotiating a short sale to assist a client in avoiding foreclosure is the normal real estate commission, and no additional upfront or other fee is sought for the negotiation or dialogue with the lender, that activity does not appear to fall within the scope of the Foreclosure Fraud Protection Act.

For more, see the AG's recent letter to the Florida Association of Realtors in which he expresses this position.

(1) Sec. 501.1377, Florida Statutes (eff. October 1, 2008).