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.
Hi all! I've spent the last few days reading through this thread. I'm not sure if I feel relieved or more anxious.
We got word in January that our landlord wanted to sell the house we're in and asked if we wanted to buy it. it's a great home, but it's a townhome and we'd rather buy a house. So we started the process of looking for a house while our landlord rents month to month.
We found a beautiful bankruptcy house that was absolutely perfect for us. Right by our kids' school, great size and layout, and a beautiful neighborhood. It was listed at $449,000. Knowing it was a bankruptcy, we knew there were fees that we would have to pay on top of the house price. The listing agent said those were built into the asking price of $449,000.
The house has been empty for a couple of years so it has some signs of neglect, but all in all not a lot of major issues.
Seattle area
No idea who the bank is or how many liens...
6/18/2004 - Sold for $367,950
7/11/2013 - Listed at $395,00
9/6/2013 - Price change $375,000
9/26/2013 - Price change $355,000
10/8/2013 - Pending Short Sale
12/17/2013 - Relisted
12/17/2013 - Price change $380,000
3/12/2014 - Price Change $375,000
5/6/2014 - Pending
8/27/2014 - Relisted
9/24/2014- Price change $445,000
7/16/2015 - Price Change $450,000
1/26/2016 - Price Change $449,950
2/8/16 - Toured propery and put in full price offer of $449,950 with no closing cost assistance. Pre-approved FHA loan.
2/9/16 - Listing agent tells us there is another higher offer in. Listing agent was going to find out the total bankruptcy fees to make sure the price covered those.
2/10/16 - 3/5/16 - Continue to look at other homes and put in 2 offers on regular sales. Outbid on both.
3/7/16 - Hear back from listing agent that other buyer backed out. Ours is the only offer. Bankruptcy fees come back at $31,000 and court will not let us finance them so we have to come up with the amount in cash. Price of house lowered to $434,000. After some back and forth, we decide it's worth it. The house is still within fair market value even with the ridiculous bankruptcy fees.
3/8/16 - Sign revised offer of $434,000 + $31,000 in bankruptcy fees. Then we find out the house is also a short sale. When we first saw it listed, it specifically said NOT A SHORT SALE. No idea why that changed.
3/10/16 - Offer accepted.
3/11/16 - Needed to send proof of funds to the bank. Done the same day.
3/14/16 - Listing agent says he's sending off the package to the bank. Earnest check cashed.
3/15/16 - Inspection done. We wanted to get it done early since the house has been empty. The heater was not working, so we had a heater repair come fix it for $179 to make sure that the FHA appraiser would approve. Other than some minor cosmetic issues, no major repairs needed.
And this is where we are. Waiting now to hear back from the bank. The listing agent did say from the time we put in our offer to when they accepted, they did get an approved short sale price from the bank of $434,000. So I'm crossing my fingers that means the approval might happen a little faster. I'm not sure if that's the case, but I can hope.
For now, we have to hope that our landlord will continue to rent month to month to us. He decided he doesn't want to sell after all so he's in no hurry to get us out.
Hi all! I've spent the last few days reading through this thread. I'm not sure if I feel relieved or more anxious.
We got word in January that our landlord wanted to sell the house we're in and asked if we wanted to buy it. it's a great home, but it's a townhome and we'd rather buy a house. So we started the process of looking for a house while our landlord rents month to month.
We found a beautiful bankruptcy house that was absolutely perfect for us. Right by our kids' school, great size and layout, and a beautiful neighborhood. It was listed at $449,000. Knowing it was a bankruptcy, we knew there were fees that we would have to pay on top of the house price. The listing agent said those were built into the asking price of $449,000.
The house has been empty for a couple of years so it has some signs of neglect, but all in all not a lot of major issues.
Seattle area
No idea who the bank is or how many liens...
6/18/2004 - Sold for $367,950
7/11/2013 - Listed at $395,00
9/6/2013 - Price change $375,000
9/26/2013 - Price change $355,000
10/8/2013 - Pending Short Sale
12/17/2013 - Relisted
12/17/2013 - Price change $380,000
3/12/2014 - Price Change $375,000
5/6/2014 - Pending
8/27/2014 - Relisted
9/24/2014- Price change $445,000
7/16/2015 - Price Change $450,000
1/26/2016 - Price Change $449,950
2/8/16 - Toured propery and put in full price offer of $449,950 with no closing cost assistance. Pre-approved FHA loan.
2/9/16 - Listing agent tells us there is another higher offer in. Listing agent was going to find out the total bankruptcy fees to make sure the price covered those.
2/10/16 - 3/5/16 - Continue to look at other homes and put in 2 offers on regular sales. Outbid on both.
3/7/16 - Hear back from listing agent that other buyer backed out. Ours is the only offer. Bankruptcy fees come back at $31,000 and court will not let us finance them so we have to come up with the amount in cash. Price of house lowered to $434,000. After some back and forth, we decide it's worth it. The house is still within fair market value even with the ridiculous bankruptcy fees.
3/8/16 - Sign revised offer of $434,000 + $31,000 in bankruptcy fees. Then we find out the house is also a short sale. When we first saw it listed, it specifically said NOT A SHORT SALE. No idea why that changed.
3/10/16 - Offer accepted.
3/11/16 - Needed to send proof of funds to the bank. Done the same day.
3/14/16 - Listing agent says he's sending off the package to the bank. Earnest check cashed.
3/15/16 - Inspection done. We wanted to get it done early since the house has been empty. The heater was not working, so we had a heater repair come fix it for $179 to make sure that the FHA appraiser would approve. Other than some minor cosmetic issues, no major repairs needed. 3/17/16 - signed contingency waiver for inspection
We found a short sale on 02/04/16 for 165k.... we put in an offer the next day at full asking plus 3% for closing costs.. This house was already "pending" but the previous buyers got tired of waiting and backed out the day before it was relisted. The sellers agent told our agent that the previos buyer were "inches from getting the house."
The bank countered our offer on 02/15/16 at 167k and agreed to pay our closing costs..
We signed the addendum right away on the same day and emailed it back... Our agent told us a couple days ago that the bank had requested for the sellers agent to resend the addendum as it was fuzzy.
Our agent also told us the bank had until Jan 31. 2016 to sell the house but since the previous buyers backed out after that date they needed an extension from FHA....
Are these extensions usually granted?
I copied and pasted the house's history below.... the pending sale on 02/09/16 is us...
How much longer is this going to take?
Weeks? Months?
Our mortgage broker said he knew the listings agent and had done deals with him before...Therefore he expects this deal to be completed in less than 45 days but I would like other people's opinions.
Update
02/24/16 Our agent informed us today that the bank had confirmed receiving the addendum... she said the file had now reached the negotiator which meant the preliminary steps were completed....
Ok, first time buyers here. What does that mean?? what are the "preliminary steps" and what steps are next?
Thanks!
02/26/16
A house just listed today for 195k it is newer (built in 2003) vs the short sale which was built in 1991. It is in a newer neighborhood and newer area in general and is in a gated community.
I am feeling really antsy because I like the fact that it's a gated community and that it's newer AND that it's a single story vs our short sale = two story. It also has a bigger yard. I am having second thoughts on this short sale. It is at 167k which is about 15-20k below market value. This house that just listed at 195k is about 10k under market value.
This is so frustrating. If I knew for sure we were closing soon on this short sale I wouldn't feel so bad about losing out on other houses.
Houses out here are selling super fast. Within 2 days.
Should I put an offer in on the new house and see what happens?
UPDATE
03/08/16
We were informed by our realtor last week that since we were asking for closing costs, the bank had to get THAT approved as well. We have really reached a dead stop. Our realtor is out of town for 2 weeks but can contact us if she needs to and vice versa. We have thought about looking for other homes but prices for houses have gone up.
The seller's agent allowed us to have a roof inspection and it turns out about 10 tiles are broken and need to be repaired (about $300).NBD So we're getting the house for 167k, the master shower pan is cracked and leaks to the downstairs so that's about $1,000. The house could use new toilets and definitely interior and exterior paint job as well as carpet cleaning. The backyard needs to be completely done. This house has been vacant for almost a year and a half.... I am wondering if this is even a good deal anymore!!
The good news is my credit went up from 680 to 693. Maybe it'll go up to 700 while we sit and wait.
FYI I will never do a short sale again.[/quote]
UPDATE:
03/11/16
Our realtor has been out of town and just updated us:
"The bank requested an extension using the current approval and value to get the offer approved. The bank stated that it had submitted the request on the 4th and it could take up to 14 days."
What does that mean? I don't know this short sale terminology. Who is the bank submitting the offer to? FHA? Are they asking us for an extension?
Does this mean once the offer is approved we will open escrow? I feel so lost.
03/18/16
Update:
I called the listing agent and she said the ss was approved by the FHA today and was moving to a second tier something...Forgot the exact word...
Anyway, she said it would take between 3-5 days and we should have the ss approval letter to open escrow within a week and a half.
Hi all! I've spent the last few days reading through this thread. I'm not sure if I feel relieved or more anxious.
We got word in January that our landlord wanted to sell the house we're in and asked if we wanted to buy it. it's a great home, but it's a townhome and we'd rather buy a house. So we started the process of looking for a house while our landlord rents month to month.
We found a beautiful bankruptcy house that was absolutely perfect for us. Right by our kids' school, great size and layout, and a beautiful neighborhood. It was listed at $449,000. Knowing it was a bankruptcy, we knew there were fees that we would have to pay on top of the house price. The listing agent said those were built into the asking price of $449,000.
The house has been empty for a couple of years so it has some signs of neglect, but all in all not a lot of major issues.
Seattle area
No idea who the bank is or how many liens...
6/18/2004 - Sold for $367,950
7/11/2013 - Listed at $395,00
9/6/2013 - Price change $375,000
9/26/2013 - Price change $355,000
10/8/2013 - Pending Short Sale
12/17/2013 - Relisted
12/17/2013 - Price change $380,000
3/12/2014 - Price Change $375,000
5/6/2014 - Pending
8/27/2014 - Relisted
9/24/2014- Price change $445,000
7/16/2015 - Price Change $450,000
1/26/2016 - Price Change $449,950
2/8/16 - Toured propery and put in full price offer of $449,950 with no closing cost assistance. Pre-approved FHA loan.
2/9/16 - Listing agent tells us there is another higher offer in. Listing agent was going to find out the total bankruptcy fees to make sure the price covered those.
2/10/16 - 3/5/16 - Continue to look at other homes and put in 2 offers on regular sales. Outbid on both.
3/7/16 - Hear back from listing agent that other buyer backed out. Ours is the only offer. Bankruptcy fees come back at $31,000 and court will not let us finance them so we have to come up with the amount in cash. Price of house lowered to $434,000. After some back and forth, we decide it's worth it. The house is still within fair market value even with the ridiculous bankruptcy fees.
3/8/16 - Sign revised offer of $434,000 + $31,000 in bankruptcy fees. Then we find out the house is also a short sale. When we first saw it listed, it specifically said NOT A SHORT SALE. No idea why that changed.
3/10/16 - Offer accepted.
3/11/16 - Needed to send proof of funds to the bank. Done the same day.
3/14/16 - Listing agent says he's sending off the package to the bank. Earnest check cashed.
3/15/16 - Inspection done. We wanted to get it done early since the house has been empty. The heater was not working, so we had a heater repair come fix it for $179 to make sure that the FHA appraiser would approve. Other than some minor cosmetic issues, no major repairs needed.
3/17/16 - signed contingency waiver for inspection
We pulled a title report and found out there are two banks involved.
First loan is $335k with Chase
Second is $130k with Wells Fargo
There is a sanitation lean of $549 - which we're pretty sure is the water company. Because when we called to have it turned on for inspection they said there was a past due amount of $600.
My hope is that since we're offering the bank approved price of $434,000 which is fair market value as well, everything will go somewhat smoothly. But i know that it can also go sideways.
Basically no new update between Jan 15 and today. Since Jan 15, I have had to resign docs and offer 3 times since the bank "lost" them and/or time expired on them. Ive extended my offer date 3 times as well for them to have all required approvals.
My file is most definitely stuck in a perpetual loop of going nowhere now for almost 5 weeks. Seller agent has attempted to "escalate" the file, however that has not netted any results.
Ive extended my offer one last time for 30 more days and informed the seller agent if all approvals are not received by then, Im walking.
As the buyer, very frustrating to be 100% reliant on the seller agent to be on top of the bank and get some answers.
Hopefully a miracle happens in this next 30 days. If not, back to looking at other homes I go.....
Update 3/20/16:
-6 full months later and just received the approval from Suntrust on the short sale! Next step is to get 2nd mortgage approval. Once/if that is given, we are good to go.
Anyone have experience with US Bank on SS approvals? Trying to gauge if Im in for another 6 month wait, or if they will move quicker than SunTrust did....
I don'y know how to copy my previous updates but here is the latest....
UPDATE:
03/23/16
GRRRRR I am so mad. We were told this morning that the 2nd tier review found that the appraisal and "ATP"? expired.... They are asking for it to be extended.. How often is the extension usually granted? Does this mean the appraisal may come back higher if it were to require a new one?...which will result in the bank wanting more money??
UPDATE:
03/23/16
GRRRRR I am so mad. We were told this morning that the 2nd tier review found that the appraisal and "ATP"? expired.... They are asking for it to be extended.. How often is the extension usually granted? Does this mean the appraisal may come back higher if it were to require a new one?...which will result in the bank wanting more money??
ATP stands for Approval To Participate in a short sale attempt on a defaulting property that is backed by an FHA loan.
The defaulting seller must meet a number of financial distress requirements to acquire an ATP...or else the property simply moves to foreclosure. The short sale won't even be considered without an ATP. It doesn't matter if the would-be buyer is offering more than current fair market value: no ATP, no short sale.
If the previous ATP has expired, that means the transaction wasn't completed in the allotted timeframe, & now the seller has to substantiate & update their degree of financial distress all over again.
That could quite likely mean updated bank statements, pay stubs, & quite possibly copies of their 2015 taxes, which are due imminently.
And yes, if the appraisal or BPO has expired, that means FHA is now going to require a brand new updated valuation of the property, which could take several weeks to work its way through the system from the time they order it.
If you're in an housing market area that is appreciating, it is definitely possible that they may now require a higher sale price than what was previously approved.
I was the listing broker on a number of FHA short sale properties in CA up thru 2013. Some went thru, but some went down in flames, & typically had absolutely nothing to do with the strength of the offer from the new buyers, but rather, the sellers who didn't or couldn't meet the stringent FHA ATP requirements.
They were either too slow submitting financial documents (I was always extremely diligent to scan & upload everything the same day received), or FHA outright rejected the sellers' hardship reasons or excuses (depending on how you want to look at it).
FHA has absolutely no qualms about moving ahead with foreclosure & denying a short sale if they get the slightest whiff that the short sale attempt is actually a 'strategic default' i.e. the sellers can still afford the property, but they simply want to get out for whatever reason.
The sellers must prove to FHA's satisfaction that their financial situation has deteriorated substantially from when they first entered into the loan. If they got a recent raise, or someone went back to work, or got a job promotion...no more ATP, & no short sale.
As you can see, FHA short sales are no easy proposition. Everyone involved has to meet all the guidelines & perform in the time allotted, or they will most definitely shoot you down.
ATP stands for Approval To Participate in a short sale attempt on a defaulting property that is backed by an FHA loan.
The defaulting seller must meet a number of financial distress requirements to acquire an ATP...or else the property simply moves to foreclosure. The short sale won't even be considered without an ATP. It doesn't matter if the would-be buyer is offering more than current fair market value: no ATP, no short sale.
If the previous ATP has expired, that means the transaction wasn't completed in the allotted timeframe, & now the seller has to substantiate & update their degree of financial distress all over again.
That could quite likely mean updated bank statements, pay stubs, & quite possibly copies of their 2015 taxes, which are due imminently.
And yes, if the appraisal or BPO has expired, that means FHA is now going to require a brand new updated valuation of the property, which could take several weeks to work its way through the system from the time they order it.
If you're in an housing market area that is appreciating, it is definitely possible that they may now require a higher sale price than what was previously approved.
I was the listing broker on a number of FHA short sale properties in CA up thru 2013. Some went thru, but some went down in flames, & typically had absolutely nothing to do with the strength of the offer from the new buyers, but rather, the sellers who didn't or couldn't meet the stringent FHA ATP requirements.
They were either too slow submitting financial documents (I was always extremely diligent to scan & upload everything the same day received), or FHA outright rejected the sellers' hardship reasons or excuses (depending on how you want to look at it).
FHA has absolutely no qualms about moving ahead with foreclosure & denying a short sale if they get the slightest whiff that the short sale attempt is actually a 'strategic default' i.e. the sellers can still afford the property, but they simply want to get out for whatever reason.
The sellers must prove to FHA's satisfaction that their financial situation has deteriorated substantially from when they first entered into the loan. If they got a recent raise, or someone went back to work, or got a job promotion...no more ATP, & no short sale.
As you can see, FHA short sales are no easy proposition. Everyone involved has to meet all the guidelines & perform in the time allotted, or they will most definitely shoot you down.
That was sooo helpful!!!! Do they normally grant these extensions? Thank you so much
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.
Grrrr
