Agent Admin Fees – Rural Development
Update!!!!!
If you have seen some of the other information I put out on this in recent month then you know that RD no longer allows Real Estate Agent Admin fees (just like the VA). In the guidelines that had been published RD simply said it’s not an allowable fee. Good news for agents we recently found was that by saying ‘not an allowable fee’ they mean that the fee can neither be financed into the loan or paid with seller concessions, but that if the borrower paid the fee out of pocket it could be charged.
The key is in the definition of unallowable fees. What this means to you?
If the Realtor Admin Fee is charged then the borrower’s bottom line must reflect as much. Examples:
- If the borrower gave no earnest money deposit and seller concessions covered all other fees then the borrower’s bottom line at closing would be the amount of the Realtor Admin Fee.
- Tax proration’s can be used to offset the charge.
- If the borrower gave a $500 earnest money deposit and the Realtor Admin Fee is $300 then the expectation would be the borrower would get just $200 back at closing. Thus using their own funds to pay the fee (assuming the seller is paying all the other closing costs).
Bottom line, if you typically charge an admin fee I would throw it on there and see what happens!
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