Closing short sales has been quite a challenge for real estate professionals since the real estate industry has been struggling, however Fannie Mae has introduced a new tool to help ensure a fair sales price during the process.

According to Jay Ryan, VP for real estate sales at Fannie Mae, Our objective is to help stabilize neighborhoods by completing short sales as close to fair market value as possible. We believe this new process will help ensure all parties are in communication early on, and are able to come to an agreeable and appropriate sales price.

There are a couple of things that a real estate listing agent can do to help Fannie Mae move the short sale process along.

• Submit short sale offer information on Fannie Mae's website, www.homepathforshortsales.com. Be sure to have all pertinent information handy, this includes the MLS listing information, property address and sales contract.
• Contact Fannie Mae early in the short sale process, in order to receive help with marketing efforts and list price information.

The Fannie Mae website provides many useful tips, FAQ's and helpful resources.