How To Buy Freddie Mac-Owned Properties With Closing Costs Paid Plus a 1.5% Rebate

Freddie Mac is following in Fannie Mae's footsteps by selling their foreclosed properties directly on the open market. Freddie Mac's program is called HomeSteps and utilizes a network of real estate agents/brokers throughout the country to sell the properties and represent buyers. (Yes, the brokerage firm I'm with, Market Advantage Real Estate, and I are part of Freddie's network)

Freddie Mac's HomeSteps program is currently two huge incentives for buyers and buyer's agents/brokers:

• Freddie Mac will pay up to 3.5 percent of a buyer's closing costs*
• Freddie Mac is offering selling agents/brokers (aka Buyer's Agents/Brokers) a 1.5 percent bonus on top of the broker commission already being offered (which ranges from 2 to 3 percent of the sales price)*

*Please see Freddie Mac Terms and Conditions for more details.

How do these two incentives benefit you as a buyer?

The first one is a no-brainer. You get your closing costs paid up to 3.5 percent of the sales price. Since closing costs typically run in the 3 percent range, this incentive should cover all of your closing costs leaving only the down payment amount due at settlement.

As for the second one, let me explain…

If you hire me as your Buyer's Agent, I will rebate any amount of commission/bonus paid to my broker above 3 percent of the sales price back to you on any and all Freddie Mac properties you purchase that offer the rebate.

For example…If the commission being offered is 2.5 percent and the bonus is 1.5 percent, you will receive 1 percent back as a rebate. If the commission being offered is 3 percent and the bonus is 1.5 percent, you will receive 1.5 percent back as a rebate.

Why "give away" my commission like that? Because I believe that making 3 percent of the sales price as a commission is fair and anything above and beyond that seems like a second-helping when you're already full. 

How do you search for Freddie Mac-owned properties? The brokerage firm I'm with, Market Advantage Real Estate, has made it easy for you. They've added a search feature that allows you to search for Freddie Mac-owned homes only. This will help filter out the "noise" and allow you to only search those properties owned by Freddie Mac. (The search feature may not be pretty, but we were focused on getting a functional resource out to consumers ASAP)

If you'd like more information about any of the Freddie Mac-owned properties you come across in your search or have questions about how the process works, please email or call me – danilo.bogdanovic@gmail.com – 703.582.5900.