As Real Estate Market Cools, Companies Relocating Employees May Need to Tune up Their Assistance Programs.

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- GMAC Global Relocation Services Offers Timely Advice for Managing Transferees' Unsold Homes in New Issue of "Strategic Advisor"

As the nation's real estate market shows signs of softening, companies with employee-relocation programs should take steps to guard themselves from any potential negative fallout -- and doing so is not as difficult as many might think, according to GMAC Global Relocation Services.

In the latest issue of its Strategic Advisor newsletter, GMAC Global Relocation Services suggests that companies should perform a methodical review of their relocation home sale programs.

"Clearly, the market is changing, and as a result it's shifting the power from sellers back to buyers," said Dawn Graffis, director of Strategic Services for GMAC Global Relocation Services. "This has ramifications for many companies that will have to deal with employees' homes, perhaps taking longer to sell. And in some cases, it will mean companies taking more unsold homes into their inventory.

"But instead of cause for pushing the panic button, we see this as an excellent opportunity for companies to carefully reexamine and, if needed, fine tune their relocation home sale programs to ensure they're benefiting and protecting employees as well as the companies themselves."

In Strategic Advisor, Graffis outlines a series of steps companies can take toward that goal, beginning with a thorough review of their program's policies to determine if they are placing the company at risk. Companies should ask and answer a series of questions, including:

--What policy drivers do we use to limit the risk of taking homes into inventory?

--What is our philosophy regarding assisting transferring employees with home sales?

Strategic Advisor then offers several strategies for strengthening home sale programs, including the following:

--Marketing Assistance. Mandate a Marketing Assistance program which, among other things, provides transferring employees with access to approved real estate professionals and comprehensive guidance in preparing their homes for sale.

--Broker Market Analyses. Require employees to obtain at least two broker market analyses from preferred brokers.

--List Price Control. Ensure that homes are priced accurately, and possibly place a cap on the listing price of homes based on the broker market analyses.

--Mandatory Marketing Period. Require a minimum marketing time of 30 days before employees may start the appraisal process; this, according to Graffis, can help companies avoid the significant costs associated with accepting homes into company inventory.

--Incentives. Offer employees incentives for selling their homes within specified marketing periods; incentives or allowances also can be offered to encourage employees to bring their homes to prime marketing condition.

The new issue of Strategic Advisor is available at www.gmacglobalrelocation.com/insight_support/article_archive.asp. If you have questions about services provided by GMAC Global Relocation Services, contact Scott Sullivan, at [e-mail] or 630-427-2062.

About GMAC Global Relocation Services

GMAC Global Relocation Services (www.gmacglobalrelocation.com) is a leading, full-service outsourcing partner of end-to-end employee relocation, assignment management and mobility consulting services for multinational organizations worldwide. The company serves corporations in 110 countries and manages more than $1 billion in relocation-related transactions for clients. GMAC Global Relocation Services is a subsidiary of Residential Capital Corp. (ResCap), a leading real estate finance company, focused primarily on the residential real estate market in the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America. ResCap is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Acceptance Corp. (GMAC). For more information about ResCap, visit https://www.rescapholdings.com.