The Federal Trade Commission, Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) rule states that any Real Estate Broker negotiating with a lender on behalf of a borrower must abide by certain rules and guidelines.
The rule is lengthy and includes various point (54 pages worth), but the one that I thought was worth mentioning is that Real Estate agents may not collect up front fees to negotiate a short sale. In my opinion, this can be very predatory to a borrower who is in financial hardship and I am glad it is no longer allowed. Now before I get a inbox full of hate emails, let me clarify, not all agents who collected upfront fees were trying to take advantage of anyone. In fact, I know a couple of top agents who are the most honest hardworking people who did just this, and got the short sales done. However, I've seen far more times when Agents collect the upfront fee and then don't lift a finger to work the short sale.
Here is a link to the entire MARS rule: http://www.ftc.gov/os/fedreg/2010/december/R911003mars.pdf
For those who'd just like a summary click here: httphttp://www.aaronline.com/azr/2011/march/mars-rule-requirements-for-short-sale-brokers.aspx
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