Added 3.3.11: Here is updated MARS Disclosure information

The first hot link contains the article written by the Commissioner and AAR’s Michelle Lind. It answers questions about real estate agents who negotiate Short Sales.

The second link is the FTC’s publication about MARS. It’s the ‘short’ version (only 54 pages) because it doesn’t have the 500+ footnotes.

They’ll be more written about this in the next week or two as NAR checks in with their report about their interactions with the FTC. It’s important to stay current on this topic. Certainly a lot has changed since the first of the year.

02.03.11

Message from Commissioner Lowe:

In a spirit of keeping our licensees informed on current and relevant topics, we are providing the following article on Short Sale Negotiator Regulations and the link to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (“MARS”) Rule.

1. Short Sale Negotiator Regulations:

Click here to view. (PDF)

The information in this article is based on Arizona law and was drafted in conjunction with Arizona Department of Real Estate, the Department of Financial Institutions and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the Arizona Association of REALTORS®.

ADRE will begin enforcement of this prohibition on March 1, 2011 which should give licensees time to bring their business practices into compliance.

2. FTC Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (“MARS”) Rule:

Click here to view. (PDF)

The MARS issue is still unresolved; however, the National Association of REALTORS® is meeting with the FTC.