Tennessee County Sues Fannie, Freddie
Mayor William Baird of Campbell County, Tenn., has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their conservator the Federal Housing Finance Agency alleging that the government-sponsored enterprises are robbing county coffers of required transfer fees, Mortgage Daily reported July 20.
Baird hopes the suit, which he filed July 17, will gain class action status with Campbell County as the lead plaintiff of 95 Tennessee counties. Baird noted that the GSEs now control substantial numbers of foreclosed properties in his county, but they are not paying locally required transfer fees when selling the foreclosed properties and recording the new deed.
The fee in Tennessee is 37 cents per $100 of property value or purchase price, much-needed money that helps fill up county coffers. However, under state law, government entities are exempt from paying the fees, and Fannie and Freddie came under government conservatorship in 2008. Baird’s lawsuit is arguing that the GSEs do not qualify for the government entity exemption, Mortgage Daily reported.
The lawsuit did not state how much money is at issue.
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