As reported here and elsewhere this past week, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) had proposed to restrict real estate agents from dual agency agreements in a pre-foreclosure sale. Why? HUD's Inspector General believes to have found instances of fraud and abuse in the pre-foreclosure process, according to NAR.
This blanket restriction would have gone into effect on October 1, just a few short days from now. The REALTOR® profession takes fraud concerns very seriously. REALTORS around the U.S. adhere to a strict Code of Ethics that helps ensure that buyers and sellers can buy or sell their home with confidence.
In a letter to HUD on September 18, NAR said that it was presented with no data or evidence on which HUD based its proposal to restrict real estate agents in pre-foreclosure sales. While it is not clear how these restrictions would have reduced fraudulent activity, it is abundantly clear that they would have impacted the ability for some buyers and sellers to actually buy and sell their homes.
After dialogue between NAR and HUD - and after State and Local REALTOR Association Presidents around the U.S. joined in - HUD agreed to remove language referring to dual agency in pre-foreclosure sales. Meanwhile, REALTORS are part of the solution. NAR in its letter proposed a number of ways to address HUD's concerns about pre-foreclosure sales, including anti-fraud strategies that are already in use over at Fannie Mae.
