This is a typical bank form that all parties are required to sign in order to close a short sale:

BofA short-sale addendum-broker cert

The form requires that the deal is an arm’s length transaction – and now we have some enforcement, at least in Nevada:

A Henderson couple could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted of bank fraud allegations in the short sale of their home.

Cynthia Hosbrook, 41, a licensed realtor, and her husband, Robert Hosbrook, 51, were indicted in U.S. District Court on Wednesday after authorities alleged they made false statements to Wells Fargo Bank to obtain approval of the short sale on their house.

They were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud.

According to the indictment, the couple asked a relative to act as a straw buyer for the purchase of their home in the 2700 block of Mallard Landing in Henderson in March 2010. The couple then submitted paperwork to Wells Fargo indicating that the sale would be between unrelated parties.

The Hosbrooks also allegedly asked the straw buyer to sign paperwork indicating that the buyer would be living in the property, which was untrue.

The form also tries to impose broker-agency (on page two) by having the agent agent certify that the property was:

‘….listed on the local Multiple Listing Service at fair market value to provide open market competitive bids to present to seller as per terms of the seller/agent listing agreement and that the marketing is in fact and “in spirit” seeking to maximize the selling price of the property.’

Hopefully there will be more convictions that draw attention to the crime – I’m not sure that all realtors recognize that they are committing felonies!