Fannie Mae DUS | 2026-11-06

Fannie Mae Closings Need a Two-File Authority Check

Form 4650 requires the lender to reconcile the organizational documents, resolutions, and acquisition papers used by underwriting and the title company before closing.

Fannie Mae's current Title and Closing Requirements for Multifamily Mortgage Loans, Form 4650, requires the closing instruction letter to direct the title underwriter to deliver the borrower and, if different, purchaser resolutions and organizational documents that the title company received and relied on to close the transaction. The lender must receive those documents before closing and review them rather than treating the title company's authority review as a substitute for its own.

The form adds a direct version-control test: the lender must confirm that the organizational documents provided to the title company are the same documents provided during underwriting. For an acquisition, the lender must also review the purchase-and-sale documents received and relied on by the title company and confirm that they are the same set provided during underwriting. Amendments, assignments, conversions, manager changes, and updated certificates should therefore be reconciled across both files before execution begins.

Authority must still be confirmed against the final documents at closing. Form 4650 requires the lender to confirm that the loan documents were fully executed by a person authorized under the applicable organizational documents, resolutions, and incumbency certificate. For an acquisition, the fully executed deed or other conveyance must match the documents previously provided, and its parties and signature blocks must reasonably align with the purchase-and-sale documents. An unexplained new general partner, manager, or sole member in the seller's signature block is identified as a potential red flag.

A practical authority tracker should identify each entity, document type, effective date, amendment, signatory, capacity, incumbency support, underwriting version, title-company version, and final execution version. Add a separate acquisition comparison for the purchase agreement, assignments, amendments, deed, parties, and signature blocks, with an escalation item for any mismatch or intervening transfer. This note is informational only and is not legal advice for any specific transaction.