Fannie Mae announced Monday
that borrowers purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned property through HomePath, the GSE’s REO disposition operation, will receive up to 3.5 percent in
closing cost assistance.

The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011, and the sale
must close on or before June 30, 2011 to be eligible for the incentive. Fannie
Mae said it can give no assurance on the time required to close, but initial
offers submitted after May 15, 2011 are particularly questionable for closing by
the incentive deadline of June 30.

To qualify, buyers must reside in the home as their primary residence; sales
to investors are excluded.

“Attracting qualified buyers to the market and reducing the inventory of
vacant homes remains essential to stabilizing neighborhoods and helping the
market recover,” said Terry Edwards, EVP of credit
portfolio management at Fannie Mae.

“Since interest rates remain low, the incentive will go a long way toward
helping even more families buy a new home so this is a great time for Fannie Mae
to offer some assistance,” Edwards added.

In Arizona and Texas, there will be a $500 bonus available for selling agents
whose buyers purchase and close on a HomePath property by June 30, 2011, and
meet the terms and conditions of the closing cost incentive.

Retail and public entities are also eligible for the special buyer-assistance
offer, however pool and auction sales are not eligible.

The D.C.-based government-backed mortgage firm rolled out a 3.5 percent
subsidy for REO buyers in January of last year. Fannie
Mae says it has seen considerable success with the program and as a result, has
extended or restarted the temporary buyer assistance incentive several times – a
strategy aimed at helping the GSE unload a bloated
supply of repossessed homes.

The company acquired 262,078 single-family REO
properties through foreclosure in 2010, compared with 145,617 in 2009. As of
December 31, 2010, the company’s inventory of single-family REO properties was 162,489. Fannie says the carrying value of
the company’s single-family REO was $15 billion as of
the end of last year.

All Fannie Mae-owned REOs are listed on www.KurtRealEstate.com and most listings include detailed property
descriptions, photographs, and community and school information.

Many Fannie Mae-owned properties are also eligible for special HomePath
Mortgage and HomePath Renovation Mortgage financing, which offers homebuyers an
opportunity to purchase with as little as 3 percent down.