Monday, July 13, 2009

Does a signed contract mean you can buy it? Don’t hold your breath…

Ok, true story…happened yesterday…

My buyer signed an offer to buy a short sale condo; seller signed it also, so we had a mutually accepted contract with just a contingency waiting for the bank to approve the price… …we waited, and waited, and patiently waited some more.

Weeks go by and I check with the listing agent every week…the “news” is always positive…they have done a preliminary approval, and are just waiting for the head bank official to sign off…well guess what?

I now find out (11 weeks later) that the bank re-possessed the property in a foreclosure, so now the bank owns it and will be putting it on the market as a Bank-Owned REO.
Can they do that? Sure, stranger things have happened.

Sometimes while the buyer is waiting, the seller could file bankruptcy, which changes your deal. Or the seller could simple move and not leave a forwarding address.

You can’t buy a house if the seller disappears.

Moral of the story: Don’t count on anything until closing and you have the keys.

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