Big news on the MARS Short Sale front this week, both from the ADRE and the FTC. We’ll probably hear more from ADRE once the Federal announcement gets digested.
Here’s an excerpt from the ADRE bulletin earlier this week.
Here’s what the FTC had to say.
So what do these announcements mean to the agents negotiating short sales in Arizona? My initial take is no more disclosure forms or announcements on web sites or other forms of advertising. For John Hall agents that means all forms 1, 2, 3a and 3b are no longer required. 1 is the advertising form for ads and web sites. 2, 3a and 3b were for short sale listing transactions. Again the MARS forms are no longer required at John Hall & Associates. Removing the ban on advanced fees might be a little trickier. Is it regulated by state statute or by the FTC? That’s why I think we will hear something from ADRE in the near future.
ADRE did clarify their interpretation on 2 agents from the same company working a short sale and teams having multiple agents including a specific short sale bank negotiator and whether they need a loan originator license or not. It’s contained in the 4th and 5th questions in the article. We’ll be talking about these changes at the office meetings coming up, so check us out on Tuesday in Scottsdale and 7/26 in the PV office.
Stay informed and practice real estate the right way.
Definitely doing the happy dance here! Thanks for letting us know so quickly what the company policy is going forward.