In an attempt to minimize short sale fraud, Freddie Mac has begun insisting on an "addendum" in which all of the parties -- and the escrow/closing agent -- are required to represent under penalty of perjury that the buyer and seller are unrelated (including by previous business dealings), that there are no secret payments or resale contracts, and the like.
These documents impose significant liability on a title agent, for something they rarely if ever know.
Does your firm accept this liability? Have you been successful in getting the lender to adjust the form? Do you ask the Realtors to give you the same representation -- figuring they've been working with these folks and have more knowledge? How do you handle these requests?
Our friends at ALTA have been working with Freddie -- unsuccessfully as yet. More
here
