|
This is a very long story (much longer than what’s written below) with a really short moral: Be honest with your agent and it can save everyone an extraordinary amount of time and money.
We had a client who stated they could no longer afford to live in the state of Colorado after owning their home for a little over a year and needed to sell. We pulled the report (owner and encumbrance aka O&E) that lets us know of liens, foreclosures and such and nothing came up. Our seller told us they missed only a couple of payments so we set the price of the house to make up the difference and asked for them to sign a consent from title to verify their net proceeds based on a sales price since the O&E report didn’t show anything. While we waited for that, the property was listed, got multiple offers and went under contract for over the asking price… which was $37k more than they had paid for it, plus what the seller put down (3.5%). According to the statements made by the seller, that was enough to break even or even walk with a couple thousand dollars. Whew! Well, 5 days before closing, our seller finally signed the consent with title and we all found out that our seller had only made 3 payments in the now 18 months of ownership. They did not have the money to make it to closing and so both buyers terminated and now that seller is re-listed (with a different agent) for well below what they paid in the first place. And the place is still not selling. The question I get asked the most often is, “Why didn’t the bank foreclose?” As it turns out, banks like to foreclose on properties with a lot of equity, otherwise it isn’t typically worth it to them to start the expensive process unless there is a trigger (like a home sale). This house had no equity given the minimal down payment and the lack of payments made toward the mortgage, so the bank wasn’t obliged to do anything until it saw this seller was under contract. Additionally, our seller had likely been getting a lot of notices from the bank that were withheld from us. To conclude, be honest with your agent! We’re here to help, and if we had been alerted to any of the issues, we would’ve been able to be a solid resource with solutions for someone backed into a corner.
0 Comments
 It all started at the Seattle airport… well, in truth it really started well before that. Like many
|
Team PJPThe seemingly straightforward world of buying and selling houses can be a whirlwind of unexpected twists. Consider the mix of emotions, interest rates, competitive markets, and a dash of the unpredictable from all sides. Then throw in bidding wars, more emotions and quirky inspection findings, and you've got a recipe for truly "Hot Mess Real Estate" moments. We strive to get to the closing table but it isn't always easy! This is a peek into our world! Archives
January 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
