Global Direct Sales’ program to sell memberships into the Owners Alliance property owners association, under the brand name DpFunder, is fully compliant with State and Federal regulations.  Global Direct Sales, LLC (GDS) is a Maryland LLC and in Good Standing in the State of Maryland.  The program is available in most states.

The DpFunder EIP program is not a “non-profit gift program” and is therefore not subject to the IRS Ruling 2006-27 which has effectively eliminated the down payment gifting activity from non-profit organizations.  The DpFunder^®EIP program may be used on conventional, Alt-A, or non-prime loans that allow earned income to be used toward the down payment.

Under the program, individuals may sign up as independent representatives for Global Direct Sales and sell multi-year memberships into the Owners Alliance, thereby earning substantial commissions on these sales.  This transaction is completely independent of a real estate transaction.  Once a completed and verified transaction has been submitted, we pay the independent representative their commission.  The property owner has forty-five days to complete enrollment and pay for their membership.  If payment is not collected, then the sale is voided and the independent representative is charged back on the sale.

When Global Direct Sales engages a representative under the agreement, the representative is also required to submit a W-9 Form along with an Independent Dealer Agreement.  This shows a contractual relationship between Global Direct Sales, LLC and the individual contractor.  The submission of a W-9 Form further shows that the independent dealer recognizes their role as a contractor, not an employee, and that they must pay taxes accordingly.  

Under the current guidelines and regulations, an independent contractor may use independent contractor income towards their down payment.  Moreover, the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), states that lenders are expressly prohibited from disallowing part-time income towards qualifying for a loan.  This is further supported by Fannie Mae^® and Freddie Mac^®'s underwriting guidelines which allow real estate sales people to use their commissions on a property that they are purchasing towards their down payment.  This is a widely used and accepted practice by real estate professionals and is expressly permitted by HUD guidelines.

A property owner’s contractual obligation to complete enrollment is independent of a real estate transaction.  The property owner who signs the contract to enroll their property into the Owners Alliance has forty five days to complete enrollment and pay the outstanding membership fee or they lose the membership.  The contract does stipulate that if a property owner sells an enrolled property during the temporary enrollment period that the property owner will complete enrollment at or before closing.  The reason for this is simple, it is assumed that a property owner represented the benefits of an Owners Alliance membership to a prospective property purchaser and then contracted their property to sell on the basis of having these benefits.  We must ensure that a membership is paid in full and enrollment completed, so that the new owner may receive the benefits for which they believed that they would be receiving, when they contracted to purchase the property. 

There are no direct ties to a real estate transaction and the DpFunder program.  Independent Dealers may sell as many memberships as they choose to sell and they will receive the same commissions.  Their income is earned by selling memberships into the Owners Alliance and the commission paid is commensurate to similar services like title insurance, warranties, and other packaged service products.  Furthermore, the retail value of the benefits included in an Owners Alliance membership far exceed the price paid by a property owner to enroll their property.  

Sincerely,

The DpFunder Team

FANNIE MAE® is a registered trademark of Fannie Mae. The use does not constitute an endorsement from Fannie Mae®.