The Federal Housing Administration is lifting the mandatory 90-day waiting period it instituted in 2003 that delays the sale of REO properties.
The waiting period, which never applied to properties sold by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or state- and federally chartered financial institutions, was imposed to make flipping more difficult. But as the number of REO homes gas grown, it has had the effect of flooding neighborhoods with properties.
The change may help reduce the impact of foreclosures on some neighborhoods, but it won’t have as significant an impact as some might think, says Glen Daniels director of real estate-owned properties for Foreclosure.com. Many of the REO properties don’t meet FHA standards and will require rehabilitation before they can be sold to an FHA borrower, he points out.
