We were oh-so-close....
...and yet so far.
We thought we were on target for an approval of our offer for that house that is in short sale. Instead, we received a casual counteroffer from the bank that owns the home.
It wasn't even official paperwork.
It was an email to the Seller's Realtor. The bank dragged the sellers through a paperwork obstacle course, in order to consider selling their home "short" of the amount owed on the mortgage. It looked like every piece of paper had been received and screened, and an approval was on its way. Our Realtor was ready to order the housing inspection and move the process along. Our lender had locked in a great interest rate and was ready to move us toward closing. We were only waiting on that official word, saying that the bank accepted our offer. Instead, the Seller's Realtor received a 2 sentence email that read,
"The listing price is too low. It needs to be (insert amount that is $15K higher than we offered)"
What?!? Seriously? The Realtors were shocked. They discussed it before they even told us. Our Realtor called me and prefaced her announcement with, "We have never seen this before. They are asking for more than the list price." She then suggested we talk it over, and let her know what we wanted to do.
We talked it over. We said NO WAY! We were not paying more than the list price on the house. In the current market where homes are foreclosing all over the place? That is silly. That house has been on the market for months, and we were the only offer. There is no competition here. Foreclosure auctions are not even getting better prices these days.
Knowing this sale was a short sale, we had already offered to pay for all inspections for closing. So, we told our Realtor that we were not going up $15K. We asked her advise as to whether we simply tell them no.....or do we counteroffer with a $5K increase and have them pay some of the inspections and fees for closing.
Our Realtor later emailed us a copy of the email exchange between the Seller's Realtor and the bank. It was absurd. The Seller's Realtor told the rep that the buyers find the price increase unacceptable. The bank rep responded that as soon as the Seller's Realtor received a higher offer, they would proceed with the short sale.
So, it sounds like the bank is not willing to accept our offer.
The part that was entertaining was the way that the Seller's Realtor attempted to be logical with them. He tried to point out that there were NO other offers on this property. When the sale price was higher, there were very few showings. When the sale price dropped, there were no offers. When the sale price dropped again, we were the only offer.
We knew this short sale process could bust at any point. It is still shocking to learn how these banks operate. I actually feel sorry for the sellers. They have been so close to foreclosure and thought this was going to be a way out. They were diligent to provide every piece of paper the bank requested. It is sad that the bank waited until after the sellers jumped through all the hoops, just to announce that they were not going to accept our offer after all.
(The Referee went online and learned that this particular mortgage company is known for mistreating sellers this way. They have a reputation for buying mortgages in foreclosure, stringing the sellers along, then foreclosing anyway.)
We have processed the reality that this house will probably not become our new home. We are giving them a few days to hash out their emails and figure out which point we consider that we have an "official" no.
To add to our housing adventure, our next-door neighbor put their house on the market to sell a week after we did.
We are starting to wonder if these are signs that it is not time to move yet. Time should bring more clarity...
...and yet so far.
We thought we were on target for an approval of our offer for that house that is in short sale. Instead, we received a casual counteroffer from the bank that owns the home.
It wasn't even official paperwork.
It was an email to the Seller's Realtor. The bank dragged the sellers through a paperwork obstacle course, in order to consider selling their home "short" of the amount owed on the mortgage. It looked like every piece of paper had been received and screened, and an approval was on its way. Our Realtor was ready to order the housing inspection and move the process along. Our lender had locked in a great interest rate and was ready to move us toward closing. We were only waiting on that official word, saying that the bank accepted our offer. Instead, the Seller's Realtor received a 2 sentence email that read,
"The listing price is too low. It needs to be (insert amount that is $15K higher than we offered)"
What?!? Seriously? The Realtors were shocked. They discussed it before they even told us. Our Realtor called me and prefaced her announcement with, "We have never seen this before. They are asking for more than the list price." She then suggested we talk it over, and let her know what we wanted to do.
We talked it over. We said NO WAY! We were not paying more than the list price on the house. In the current market where homes are foreclosing all over the place? That is silly. That house has been on the market for months, and we were the only offer. There is no competition here. Foreclosure auctions are not even getting better prices these days.
Knowing this sale was a short sale, we had already offered to pay for all inspections for closing. So, we told our Realtor that we were not going up $15K. We asked her advise as to whether we simply tell them no.....or do we counteroffer with a $5K increase and have them pay some of the inspections and fees for closing.
Our Realtor later emailed us a copy of the email exchange between the Seller's Realtor and the bank. It was absurd. The Seller's Realtor told the rep that the buyers find the price increase unacceptable. The bank rep responded that as soon as the Seller's Realtor received a higher offer, they would proceed with the short sale.
So, it sounds like the bank is not willing to accept our offer.
The part that was entertaining was the way that the Seller's Realtor attempted to be logical with them. He tried to point out that there were NO other offers on this property. When the sale price was higher, there were very few showings. When the sale price dropped, there were no offers. When the sale price dropped again, we were the only offer.
We knew this short sale process could bust at any point. It is still shocking to learn how these banks operate. I actually feel sorry for the sellers. They have been so close to foreclosure and thought this was going to be a way out. They were diligent to provide every piece of paper the bank requested. It is sad that the bank waited until after the sellers jumped through all the hoops, just to announce that they were not going to accept our offer after all.
(The Referee went online and learned that this particular mortgage company is known for mistreating sellers this way. They have a reputation for buying mortgages in foreclosure, stringing the sellers along, then foreclosing anyway.)
We have processed the reality that this house will probably not become our new home. We are giving them a few days to hash out their emails and figure out which point we consider that we have an "official" no.
To add to our housing adventure, our next-door neighbor put their house on the market to sell a week after we did.
We are starting to wonder if these are signs that it is not time to move yet. Time should bring more clarity...
Wow. This kind of thing makes me think I should stick to apartments lol.
ReplyDeleteI pray that it all works out for the best and God's will be done!