Big Change You Should Be Aware Of

​Hi, everyone! Welcome to 2021!  
One big change that was just announced that you need to be aware of is regarding
obtaining Power of Attorney (POA) for your buyers. 
Beginning on January 4 th , Freddie Mac no longer allows buyers to get a POA except in
the event of a medical emergency.   Fannie Mae has not updated their policy, so for the
moment they still allow POA’s with all the previous stipulations, but they could follow
suit.  
POA’s have been progressively more difficult since the great recession.  The agencies
(Fannie and Freddie) don’t like them.  So if you have buyers who are talking about “not
coming to closing,” you need to let your lenders know immediately.  A POA may not be
an option, so the buyers may have to attend, or arrange a mail away.  
This change does not affect POA’s for sellers, so for your listings you are in good
shape.    Remember, a “conventional loan” just means the loan is either going through
Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.   Some lenders use one or the other, and some use both
(our company Fairway sells directly to both).  However, if you happen to have a buyer
who is dealing with a lender that only runs loans through Freddie Mac, then that lender
will no longer be able to allow POA’s at all for conventional loans.   
If you have any questions on this or want to discuss the topic further, please give us a
call
at 404-373-3411 or email us at [email protected].   
As a reminder, the new conventional loan limit for Georgia is now $548,250! 
Happy New Year!