On March 28th the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that address inquiries received from stakeholders regarding payment of real estate agent commissions related to the recently announced nationwide settlement agreement proposed by the National Association of REALTORS®. Since its announcement, FHA has received questions from its stakeholders, including appraisers, regarding how the proposed settlement agreement will affect the treatment of seller-paid buyer real estate broker fees in transactions using FHA-insured mortgage financing.
Under existing FHA policy, if sellers continue to pay buyer-side real estate agent commissions and fees as a manner of state and local law or custom, and if the commissions and fees are reasonable in amount, existing policy would not treat those payments as interested party contributions provided all other requirements are met.
FHA will continue to monitor the real estate marketplace for changes resulting from the settlement for potential impacts to its policies and will address additional questions as they develop.
Contact the FHA Resource Center at 1-800-CALLFHA (1-800-225-5342) with additional questions or visit www.hud.gov/answers.
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