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January 23, 2012
On Jan. 5, 2011, NAR reached out to Bank of America and Freddie Mac regarding inconsistencies in Bank of America’s implementation of required changes to Freddie Mac’s mandatory short sale affidavit. On Nov. 18, 2011, Freddie Mac amended its policy regarding the affidavits at the request of NAR and the American Land Title Association (ALTA). The changes included removing responsibility for the certification of any other signatory, and making all certifications based on "the best of each signatory's knowledge and belief." All servicers covered by the policy were required to implement the changes by Jan. 1, 2012, to comply with the revisions. Though Bank of America partially implemented the revisions, NAR is pushing for changes on several other provisions that are inconsistent with the revised policy. NAR is working closely with Freddie Mac to ensure proper implementation by all servicers, and will continue to post the latest updates on nar.realtor.
NAR members are encouraged to make sure they are signing an updated form and, if presented with an old form, should request the servicer to update or allow amendments to the form before they sign, to avoid potential liability issues.