A client recently placed a highly desirable Fannie Mae Property under contract at the price listed in MLS after seeing it on Fannie Mae's site at $10K less. The listing broker is well-known locally and highly respected but never responded to my question about the $10K difference in price. Uneasy about this largely because net listings are illegal in GA, I discussed with my team leader who didn't see any issue with this from the buyer's agent side, so I moved on and the parties are now in binding agreement.

Does anyone know if Fannie Mae will collect that additional $10K or will it go into the broker's pocket? Also, am I exposed to any liability as the buyer's agent for being involved in this type of transaction? After all, I saw the listing on the HomePath site for less than what it was listed for in MLS. FYI, the contract does include both an appraisal contingency and a finance contingency.

I had a Fannie Mae listing in Georgia that actually was reduced on the Homepath website on a Friday afternoon and I was not notified by First Preston of the price reduction until Monday.

I received a call from a buyer on Saturday. I told them what I knew about the property and the list price. They quickly corrected me on the price which was about 15K less on Homepath. I told them I would check on the price. On Monday my rep at First Preston sent me the price reduction and said they got it late on Friday and didn't have time to sent it out.

Something like that may be the case. I believe Fannie Mae will get the 10K. I would hope the broker is not trying to make the extra cash, but it is possible.

The HomePath website is advertising the property, as are many other websites. An asking price shown on a website is meaningless and often incorrect. The only number that matters is what is in the contract. Just because a deal has been made that is over the asking price on a website, does not mean the agent gets the difference(Boy, do I wish it did!).

It is best to always check the HomePath and the MLS data before making an offer. If the HomePath site is cheaper, contact the listing agent first, because the MLS probably hasn't been updated after a price adjustment.

I would have the buyer sign or initial the MLS sheet showing the list price on the date the offer was written, just to be safe.