U.S. Marshals Service: Fannie Mae Partnership
Disposition of Forfeited Properties
Department of Justice, 2000
The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and Fannie Mae have partnered in the disposition of certain residential properties that have been forfeited to the USMS. Fannie Mae annually sells an estimated 22,000 pieces of residential properties nationally, using a network of licensed brokers, contractors, appraisers, and attorneys. The USMS became the first government agency to partner with Fannie Mae to dispose of real property.
Once the property is referred to USMS, Fannie Mae handles all the steps in the disposition process, from the initial appraisal and inspection through the disbursement of funds after closing has taken place. After the initial pilot of 10 USMS district offices, the agency has since expanded this partnership to 73 of its 94 district offices.
The partnership has allowed the USMS to focus on other critical areas and programs of its forfeiture program and reduced the amount of time spent on administrative property management functions. The partnership also decreased the average disposal time from 1 year to 142 days, while increasing the sales price as a percentage of the appraised value (from 85 percent to 91.2 percent).
For more information, contact Katherine Deoudes at (202) 307-9009 or via e-mail at katherine.deoudes@usdoj.gov
