Fannie Mae's goal is "to tear down barriers, lower costs, and increase the opportunities for home ownership and affordable rental housing for all Americans." For buyers interested in Fannie Mae properties, this information may seem intensive. It is in your best interest to find an experienced agent who can guide you through this process step-by-step. Click here to learn more about Westcott Properties' knowledgable agents.
**If you're an investor or an agent representing an investor: One important thing to note is that Fannie Mae has implemented a "first look period" for all of their listings. What this means is that the property has to be on the market for a full 15 days before an investor's offer can be considered, which will not happen until the 16th day. This "first look period" is in place so that owner occupants have an advantage in making an offer on Fannie Mae properties. It is Fannie Mae's goal to promote the stabilization of neighborhoods. **
**If you are an owner occupant or an agent representing an owner occupant: Fannie Mae will not consider any offers, including those from owner occupants, for the first 3 days on market**
All offers on Fannie Mae properties have to be submitted by the buyers agent into www.homepath.com (Note: Fannie Mae will not consider an offer that has not been inputted by an agent)
If you are an agent making an offer on Home Path for the first time:
- Go to www.homepath.com
- Search for the home your client is interested in by going to their home page and entering the mls number (quickest way) into the area called "search for a home"(located on their home page in a greenbox)
- Once you select the desired property, ( if that property is still available to place an offer), then you will see a blue button titled, "make an offer"
- Once you click that button you'll be taken to a new page where you can register with homepath.com
If you are an agent who is already signed up (or once you have signed up):
- Login on the home page of homepath.com using your specific username and password
- Once logged in and having located the desired property, hit the blue button titled, "make an offer", and you will be taken to an offer form which must be filled out.
- Buyers Address
- Has the buyer purchased a Fannie Mae Property before?
- Buyer Type? (owner occupant or investor)
- Is the buyer using public funds? (acquisition assistance provided by a government entity or non-profit)
- Has the buyer been pre-qualified?
- Does the buyer rent or own their current residence?
- Completed and buyer signed purchase and sales agreement with all pertinent offer details and copy of offer deposit
- Completed and buyer signed Real Estate Purchase Addendum
- Buyer signed owner occupancy affidavit if buyer is an owner occupant
**Please Note:
- As part of this addendum, an agent MUST let the sellers agent know if the buyer will use an attorney of their choice or from the seller’s network of attorneys if accepted – this is a requirement in order to submit an offer, and one of the most common mistakes among agents when they’re completing the purchase addendum with their buyers
- The addendum also denotes that the buyer will be responsible for tax stamps (a closing cost which generally costs roughly $4 per every $1,000 of the purchase price) if applicable – this is also often missed when the buyer’s agent is reviewing the addendum with the buyer
- If any of the above documents are not submitted or are incomplete, and/or if the offer is not correctly input into Homepath.com by the buyer’s agent, Fannie Mae considers the offer to be incomplete & instructs their agent not to submit the offer, and instead contact the buyers agent to make any necessary corrections and/or provide any additional required paperwork
Once an offer is deemed complete by the listing agent, the listing agent will then submit the offer to Fannie Mae for their consideration:
- All communication must go through homepath.com, so the agent MUST be on the lookout in their email for any communication regarding their offer
- Emails from Homepath.com provide the agent with detailed instructions for how they should handle each situation (Note: if they’re countered, rejected, accepted, or if a multiple offer situation exists)
- Communications by the buyer’s agent outside of Homepath.com (ex. If a buyers agent emails the sellers agent the buyer’s counter rather than submitting it into homepath.com) CANNOT be considered
**Please Note: Unlike most other sellers, Fannie Mae does not require that the agent submit the buyer’s pre-qualification letter with the initial offer, but it will be needed before the offer can be considered**
