Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So my family put it in an offer of $545,000 (with all the closing fees its $569,000 which is the asking price for the home) for a single family home in July and it was verbally accepted by the seller. We were approved for a loan in August so everything on our part was ready to go and we were only waiting on the seller's bank to approve. Our initial settlement date was mid September but the seller's bank did not approve the price yet and we were offered another settlement date. At this point we began to have mixed feelings on whether or not we should continue this short sale or give up. However, we decided to sign another settlement date of 12/15(chosen by the seller & their agent) and we've been waiting patiently but at this point we're getting really frustrated because the seller's agent has not responded to several e-mails/phone calls concerning any information about the house for the past two months. The seller also has an attorney working for them and we do not have an agent. We were told in September when we signed the new settlement date by the seller's agent that the bank should be on its way of approving it in a month but so far nothing new has changed. I understand when buying a short sale it really just depends on the bank's approval but we just wanted some insight on this situation. So any ideas what is going on or what should we do?
The seller also has an attorney working for them and we do not have an agent. So any ideas what is going on or what should we do?
Thanks!!
You wrote the magic words "seller also has an attorney."
There's a reason no one has ever heard of short sales until recently. The penalty for short sales as your short the bank "say 100K" The bank will "approved the short sale" but will send you a 1099 Misc at the end of the year and you would be responsible for paying taxes on that 100K. That's a pretty big deterrent and why short sales were never heard of. Cause sellers didn't want to have to pay taxes on the shorted amount. But with the Mortgage relief act of 2007, primary home sellers underwater would be forgiven on the balance of the shorted amout.
If the sellers have obtained an attorney, I am guessing either the home is in a deficiency judgment state or the sellers have some hard assets. They probably hired an attorney to try to screw the bank and protect their assets or protect themselves from having to carry a note for the balance of the shorted amount.
Just because it's a short sale, doesn't mean much. The sellers could have refinanced and taken out cash. They could have 100-200K sitting in the bank but trying to not use that money and get away with paying their debt. There could be 2nd or 3rd lien holders who think it's better for the home to go into foreclosure and sue the sellers. Who knows.
But I know Congress should have never created that mortgage and relief act because it creates more havoc into an already depressed housing market by flooding the market with most distress properties from "short sellers", some of whom don't know the full extent of the law.
You need to get your own attorney asap, and let the two of them work it out. The seller's attorney has no incentive to talk to you; he's being paid by the seller. Where is your deposit? I am surprised in that price range that you have not protected yourself.
You sound woefully unprepared for the short sale process and need some guidance beyond what we can do for you in this forum. You need an agent or attorney to step in and advise you.
So the seller has an attorney and a listing agent advising them, and you have???????? an online forum with realtors to advise you???? Follow everyone else's advise and get your own representation. A buyers agent cost you nothing.
Correct me if I'm wrong but a seller accepting a short sale offer by the OP is the same as me accepting your offer on that same house? Meaning the seller has no say in the transaction?
Correct me if I'm wrong but a seller accepting a short sale offer by the OP is the same as me accepting your offer on that same house? Meaning the seller has no say in the transaction?
The bank is just waiting for a higher bid, no?
Yes and No Daniel, you are correct that the seller accepting the offer in a short sale means nothing, it still needs the bank approval. No, the bank is not neccessarily waitng for a higher offer, with their hierarchy they are simply highly inefficient bureaucracies. Would they like a higher offer, sure. But that is not the reason short sales take so long. The good offers seem to take just as long as the low ball offers.
Correct me if I'm wrong but a seller accepting a short sale offer by the OP is the same as me accepting your offer on that same house? Meaning the seller has no say in the transaction?...
Actually, the seller does have a say. They can accept or reject any offer, and they can also reject the bank's approval if they don't like the terms the bank requires for approval.
The problem I have with the OP's situation, is that the seller only verbally accepted their offer. This is a tactic taken by some sellers to enable them to submit multiple offers to the bank, then only sign the one the bank approves. I would require the seller to sign the offer and commit themselves to my buyer. They can take other offers in a back-up position.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
