Fannie Mae Issues Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2025-03

Fannie Mae issued Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2025-03 (Announcement), setting forth updates to the Selling Guide. Per the Announcement, Fannie Mae:

• Updated interested party contributions (IPCs) definitions for clarity purposes;
• Identified a new list of items that are not subject to maximum financing concessions (formerly “IPC limits”);
• Clarified that a realtor rebate, not applied to the transaction (for example, not used towards closing costs), must be treated as a sales concession, regardless of when the rebate is provided;
• Clarified that arrangements subject to the lender incentive policy include cash, cash-like gifts, or items of value which may be provided directly by a lender to a borrower or through a 3^rd party on behalf of the lender;
• Revised the requirement that when a lender who is, or is affiliated with, an interested party, provides an incentive, the incentive must be treated as a sales concession;
• Increased the $500 limit on lender incentives to $2,500;
• Revised policy regarding the maximum guaranty fee buyup amount, which will be stated in the lender’s mortgage-backed security commitment. The guaranty fee cannot be bought down to a number less than zero; and
• Clarified that a prorated real estate tax credit may be considered in determining the amount of funds required from the borrower at closing only when an escrow account has been established and includes the portion of taxes owed by the property seller for the period of time they owned the property (in these cases, the prorated real estate tax credit from the seller may offset all or a portion of the funds needed for the escrow account).

Revisions related to IPCs and lender incentives are effective for all loans with Note dates on and after Sept. 3, 2025 (lenders are, however, encouraged to implement the changes immediately). All other revisions are effective May 7, 2025.

Click to view the Fannie Mae Selling Guide Annoucement SEL-2025-03: https://www.tenaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fannie-Mae-Selling-Guide-Announcement-SEL-2025-03-05-07-25.pdf