Short Sale Assistance Desk (SSAD)

Submission Guidelines

•The real estate professional must first make a reasonable effort to resolve the issue by working through the servicer.
• The real estate professional may submit the case in the event the servicer has not provided:

1. an initial response within 20 days,
2. a final property valuation within 30 days,
3. a final decision or specific direction to facilitate a decision within 60 days from the original offer submission date,
4. or, if the real estate professional has received an approval from the servicer for the transaction, but either the mortgage insurer or secondary lienholder has imposed a closing condition that is not possible for the borrower to meet.

• The real estate professional must address all “actionable” requests from the servicer before submitting the issue.
• Where additional documentation is requested, servicer response time will be calculated starting on the date the real estate professional submitted the final documentation.

To Utilize the Short Sale Assistance Desk:
1. Simply look up the property to make sure it has a first-lien loan owned by Fannie Mae
2. Have the homeowner sign a Borrower Authorization Form (BAF)
3. Fill out and submit the online form.
 

Visit Matrix to complete the steps above. Direct access to the Short Sale Assistance Desk is available as an External Link on your Matrix homepage or in the Short Sale Center tab in the top Matrix navigation bar. Log in to Matrix at matrix.mris.com and start saving time on your Fannie Mae short sales!

How Do I Access SSAD?

To access the Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk, log in to Matrix by visiting matrix.mris.com. On your Matrix homepage, select the Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk link located in the External Links section. You can also access SSAD from the Short Sale Center tab in the Matrix navigation bar.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Short Sale Assistance Desk?

In cooperation with Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) across the nation, Fannie Mae developed the Short Sale Assistance Desk (“Assistance Desk”) to assist real estate professionals in handling post-offer issues that may relate to servicer responsiveness, the existence of a second lien, or issues involving mortgage insurance.

2. How does the Assistance Desk work?

The Assistance Desk leverages the relationship between the participating MLSs and their customers to collect and submit information to Fannie Mae using a dedicated submission form on the MLS website.

3. What are the benefits for real estate professionals?

The Assistance Desk is an escalation procedure which may help facilitate and streamline the short sale process in closing short sales. It is meant to serve as a backstop to empower real estate professionals in those cases where the normal process has slowed down or stalled and where Fannie Mae’s intervention may serve as a catalyst for progress towards a resolution.

4. How long does it take to get a short sale problem resolved?

A real estate professional will receive an initial response within one week confirming that the case has been reviewed. The response will verify whether or not the case meets the submission requirements and if it will be further escalated. It is expected to take at least one week to escalate a case, but may take several weeks, particularly for mortgage insurance or second lien related cases. If a case extends beyond two weeks, Fannie Mae will provide status updates as available. Please note that neither the MLS nor Fannie Mae can guarantee a positive resolution to a short sale case.

5. What are the eligibility guidelines for short sale cases?

The Assistance Desk will only accept cases meeting the following eligibility criteria:

• The property must have a first-lien loan owned by Fannie Mae;
• Only post-offer issues can be submitted (the servicer must be in receipt of a valid offer for the property);
• The real estate professional must be an MRIS customer;
• The real estate professional must be the listing agent for the property; and
• The real estate professional must obtain a signed Borrower Authorization Form (BAF) from the homeowners and submit it to the MLS.

6. How can a real estate professional submit a short sale case for review?

The real estate professional must first make a reasonable effort to resolve the issue by working through the servicer. The real estate professional may submit a case, using the dedicated form that is accessible by clicking on Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk located under the External Links section of your Matrix homepage, in the event the servicer has not provided:

• An initial response within 20 days;
• A final property valuation within 30 days;
• A final decision or specific direction to facilitate a decision within 60 days from the original offer submission; or
• A case may also be submitted for review if the real estate professional has received an approval from the servicer for the transaction, but either the mortgage insurer or second lienholder has imposed a closing condition that is not possible for the borrower to meet.
Note: The real estate professional must address all “actionable” requests from the servicer before submitting the issue.

7. Does the Assistance Desk replace the normal approval process for Fannie Mae short sales?

The Assistance Desk is not intended to replace the normal approval channels, nor is it intended to serve as a compliance or enforcement function or as a potential appeal for decisions the real estate professional believes to be unfavorable.

8. How can a real estate professional confirm that a property is owned by Fannie Mae?

The listing agent on a property can use Fannie Mae’s Loan Lookup tool to determine if Fannie Mae owns the loan prior to completing the online questionnaire. The Loan Lookup tool can be accessed through the Short Sale Assistance Desk link located in the External Links section on your Matrix Homepage.

For technical assistance using SSAD, contact SSAD Support via email at SSAD_Support@mredllc.com