Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday issued guidance regarding the treatment of property seller-paid buyer agent fees under the enterprises’ interested party contribution requirements following a recent court settlement involving the National Association of Realtors.
NAR in March agreed to make several changes to how Realtors’ commissions are apportioned as part of a settlement to end several antitrust lawsuits brought against the association. In guidance about the effects of the settlement, Fannie and Freddie noted that their policies on interested party contributions, or IPC, allow parties—including property sellers—to make contributions to the borrower’s closing costs subject to maximum limits ranging between 2% and 9% of the property value. Typical fees or closing costs paid by a seller in accordance with local custom, known as common and customary fees or costs, are not subject to the IPC limits, according to the guidance. (Freddie issued separate guidance.)
“If a seller or seller’s real estate agent continues to pay the buyer’s real estate agent commission in accordance with local common and customary practices, these amounts are not required to be counted towards the IPC limits for the transaction,” Fannie Mae said.
