Could You Be Involved In Short Payoff Fraud? Freddie Mac Thinks “Yes”

Short Sale Fraud – Freddie Mac Drops A Huge Bomb On Real Estate Investors

Short Sale Fraud – It’s not a law; nor is it an official policy, but it’s definitely going to be a problem regardless. The news from Freddie Mac on short sales could cause serious legal and practical issues for real estate investors.

Last Friday, April 16, 2010, Freddie Mac posted a new article entitled :Emerging Fraud Trends: Short Payoff Fraud.” The article stated, in short, that short sales could be fraudulent if the lender does not have information about a pre-arranged flip of the property after the short sale to another buyer. This is a serious yellow flag for short sale investors who make their living negotiating good short sale deals with banks, then selling their new properties to other buyers for a profit.

The rest of the article detailed scenarios and red flags for “short payoff” fraud. The scenario involved a facilitator, whose description matched that of a real estate short sale investor, who negotiated a deal with a lender to short sale a home worth $80,000 with a debt of $100,000 for $70,000. The facilitator does not let the bank know that he already has a buyer ready to pay 95,000 for the property. When the transactions close – in this case on the same day – and the facilitator pockets the difference, according to Freddie Mac he has just committed fraud because he withheld information about a higher offer and causes Freddie Mac to take a “larger than necessary” loss on the sale.

The writer encourages everyone involved in short payoffs to look out for short payoff flags. Freddie Mac considers entities buying property, borrowers who are suddenly in default and borrowers who have not reneged on all of their loans to be red flags for short payoff fraud. The article also tells readers to keep an eye out for resale options in their purchase agreement.

Everyone involved in a short payoff is encouraged by Freddie Mac to report potential short payoff fraud the second they become aware of a second purchase contract for a higher price. It may not be considered breaking the law, but it certainly looks like Freddie Mac wants to make short sales as difficult as possible for real estate investors.