"Title issues" on an REO

[Lauren Rose]

Hello,

I put an offer in on a Chase bank owned foreclosure 2 weeks ago (the first day that they would accept offers). We were supposed to hear back within 48-72 hours, but we didn't. We kept our offer in and our realtor has been talking to the listing realtor and found out that they're "checking title issues."

Does anyone have any experience with this and have any idea how long this can take? They said we are the only offer right now. Also, the realtor said that this won't affect the asking price of the house.

The bank "bought" the house back in 2015. Shouldn't the liens have been cleared when they bought it back?

[Ron S.]

If Chase owns it, Chase owns it, not "FHA" or "VA" and no, the "Option of giving a property back to FHA or VA" is not an accurate statement. FHA is insurance. They aren't a lender. FHA insured loans that are foreclosed on become HUD homes and are sold through HUD and their vendor(s).

https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/sfh/re...

VA takes the property that doesn't sell third party at foreclosure and then sells it through VRM.

https://listings.vrmco.com/.

A "Previous owner" is just that, a previous owner, and whatever "protesting through bankruptcy" means has nothing to do with title and foreclosure. If a borrower is in bankruptcy, the foreclosure sale isn't going to happen until/unless the trustee approves the sale of the home or abandons the home as an asset of the bankruptcy court. If on the other hand a borrower was in bankruptcy and the lender went and held a foreclosure sale while the borrower had stay protection, without seeking and being issued relief to proceed to sale, that's another issue. I doubt that would be an issue because while Chase has their problems, they don't typically hold a faulty foreclosure sale and then put an REO on the open market to sell, until its resolved.

The one accurate statement is that yes, in terms of title issues, it could be anything, or, it could be nothing.

If Chase owns it and has since 2015, chances are that they'll sell it when they are ready to sell it. If they have title issues, they'll more than likely get them cleared up, eventually. If you are in a hurry, might want to move on to the next deal. I've done thousands of foreclosures, literally. I can count on one hand the amount of foreclosures that I've done with actual title issues. Every foreclosure starts with a TSG (Trustee Sale Guarantee) once the NOD is filed. That should tell you any issues. The trustee will do a date down just before sale as well to make sure nothing else popped up just before sale. If the lender didn't do it, or didn't catch it or something else showed up to cloud title, they are more than likely working to resolve it. The last thing they want is to sell a property they can't ensure, has clear and marketable title. While they have motivation, other than property maintenance and taxes, they aren't "paying for it every day they hold it". Chase has over 800 billion in their servicing portfolio so, I'm sure they can manage the winterizing and property taxes on an REO for a couple of years if necessary.

Chase can do whatever they want with the property if they own it. They can sell it. They can give it away. They can keep it as an executive retreat. Sounds like from your post that they elected to sell it on the open market and you made an offer. The agent says there are title issues they are checking on? If that's actually a true statement, I'm sure as time goes by, you'll find out what those issues are if any. let us know how it goes.