Auction to listing time?

Question

Greetings Everyone!

I currently own one rental unit and am looking to purchase another one. I'm finally delurking to ask for help. Looked through a bunch of old posts but didn't really see an answer to this question.

Last year, I had a signed contract on a property in foreclosure but 3 days prior to closing, the pipes bursts and the unit was ruined. No worries. We still wanted the property. We updated our offer per the bank's request but never heard from them again. Found out the place was going up for auction on May 2nd. We attended the auction and watched the unit get turned over to FNMA.

How long does it normally take for the deed to clear and the property to be relisted? We've already been in contact with the listing agent FNMA selected to list the property but it's been over 3 months and there's been no listing yet. The listing agent wouldn't let us make an offer on the place prior to the listing. We tried! Also, it appears as if the title hasn't even been conveyed to FNMA yet per the recorder of deed. That seems strange. We thought that it usually took about 45 days for that to clear.

Any other thoughts on what might be going on or how long we should have to wait?

Thanks in advance!
Kelly

Account Closed · Answer

If the HOA filed suit before the auction date, then FNMA will have to pay six months of back assessments before selling the unit.  This is an Illinois specific law.

However, I have seen cases where an HOA refuses to issue a Paid Assessment Letter even after being paid six months of back assessments.  HOAs can refuse to issue a Paid Assessment Letter for any ridiculous reason: damage done to another unit or common grounds, noise complaints, back dues in excess of 6 months, etc.

Without a Paid Assessment Letter it is impossible to sell the unit.  So, the only options for a lender or investor who acquires the unit at auction are to:

1) Pay whatever amount the HOA is demanding in back dues and fees in order to get the Paid Assessment Letter

2) Sue the HOA in order to force them to issue a Paid Assessment Letter

It can take a very long time for HOA disputes to be resolved.  FNMA will not be able to sell the unit until receiving a Paid Assessment Letter from the HOA.

You can try calling the development’s management company to see if the delay is resulting from an HOA dispute.

Account Closed · Answer

Was the property occupied or vacant?

If the former owners are still living in the property, Fannie will have to evict them before listing it.  In Cook County it can take a year or more for an eviction.

If the property was vacant it can still take several months after auction just to receive the deed and gain possession in Cook County.

Try contacting the attorney who handled the case to get a status update.

You can find the attorney's information on the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court's website.  Type in the foreclosure case number in the "Online Case Info" page (Chancery Division).  The attorney's info should come up on the top right of the page.

Steve Babiak · Answer

Try contacting the bank that made the loan and the bank that serviced the loan.  That is the second place to try after the foreclosure auction.  First to try is the attorney that handled the foreclosure (or the trustee), to see if the property can be purchased before the bank lists it with an agent.  But I think too much time has passed for you to contact the attorney; you want to do that as close as possible in time to the actual foreclosure auction.

FNMA will have the property on homepath.com with "coming soon" once they are handing it to an agent.  It probably will be "first look" for 15 days or so (owner occupants only period).

Donny Random · Answer

Bump for replies

Kelly D. · Answer

Well, after being told by the mortgage holder (Nationstar) on the day of the auction (May 2nd) that the property was a FNMA property and that we'd have to go through them to purchase, we found out today that Nationstar did indeed take the property back post auction after all.  Unbelievable.  They've been sitting on the property for almost 4 months.  Supposedly, it's still in some committee and they're trying to figure out the listing price.

How could they not know they were taking back the property at auction?  Why would they tell us they turned the property over to FNMA when they took back the property?  Our agent definitely confirmed that it's still on their books, not FNMA's books.

Our agent is now trying to see if we can make an offer directly to Nationstar - again.  They had approved our original short sale offer before the pipes burst.  They never responded to the revised offer they asked us to submit after the water damage.

When we make this new offer, should we submit the pictures of the water damage we documented and our contractor's estimate of repair costs?  They can't possible think that a home with multiple collapsed ceilings and now probably mold everywhere is going to sell for what they are owed or even at market value, can they?  Prices on similar move-in ready properties in the neighborhood have continued to decline in the 15 months we've been working on this.  We don't expect to get the place for nothing but what is reasonable in this circumstance?

Kelly D. · Answer

@Tim

Wow!  We'd heard about the six month issue but weren't sure how it applied to this situation.  We'll all them and see if they'll spill the beans.

Thanks so much for the insights!  This is extremely helpful.

Kelly D. · Answer

@Steve,

Thanks!  FNMA turned the property over to a local listing agent the day after the auction.  They put a sign on the property and we contacted them directly to make an offer before they actually listed.  They told us FNMA was not taking any offers prior to the HomePath listing.  We've got our agent lined up to notify us the minute it comes to market.  We're just wondering what is taking so long for it to be listed.  It's not like they're doing anything at all to clean up the damage done post pipes bursting.  The prior bank never even sent anyone out to remove the water.  And we know that the new listing agent does not plan on doing anything to the unit.  It will definitely be sold "as is."

@Tim,
Thanks to you, too!  The unit is vacant. The former owners moved out almost a year before the place went to auction.   It's definitely uninhabitable now after all the water damage.

We do have the attorney's name from the auction.  I will give them a call to see if they can tell us anything.  We do know that the HOA filed a suit against the former owners for back assessments but we thought all that got wiped out once the home was sold at auction.  Interesting that it can still take months to receive the deed.

Kelly D. · Answer

Hi Donny,

Not quite sure what this means.  Should I post it somewhere else?

Auction to listing time?

Most Popular Reply