All Forum Posts by: Dale Williams

It seems like at this point the seller stopped trying to make the sale. The seller needs fill out some standard forms for closing and it has been many weeks. We extend the contract every week, sometimes they sign it sometimes they don't. It appears the contract has no meaning to the seller. Is there any way to get them to work on this? or at least disclose where things are at?  It seems the buyer has no leverage to get them to do anything. My realtor asks them all the time where things are at and gets no meaningful responses or no response at all.  

Thanks for your help. -Dale

Hi Dan,

      It has been total mess so far. The seller finally got the deed recorded the other week after 3 months. They have an out of state attorney that did it and wrote the jurat section not using the Vermont state specific language. The title is now recorded with a defect and the bank says they are not going to fix it because they found some title company that will insure it. My attorney will not insure it because of the defect and because there was no appraisal done by the bank. There needs to be an appraisal because this was a deed in lieu of foreclosure. It could be rescinded if the previous owner files for bankruptcy if it is worth too much.  The seller said I have to take their title and title insurance and close by Friday or they are going to find another buyer. My attorney is now reviewing there title insurance to see if i am covered if i take. He is also tracking down the previous owner to see if she will sign the necessary paperwork to be able to fix the title after the sale.  If their insurance does not look good i will file for an extension and pay for an appraisal if they will let me close later than Friday.  If all fails by Fri they said i could have my deposit back but i'll be stuck with no house and large bill from my attorney. I hope yours goes better than mine, working with banks is nothing like working with real people. Get a good attorney. 

-Dale

That is good to hear that is it fairly common and not a show stopper.  The place i have under contract is probably 60 cents on the dollar but it is in Chittenden county where there are not many deals to be had and competition is fierce. I plan to live there as i fix it up, and i like the place so i think will be a good deal for me.  

I heard back from the attorney today. I guess the bank got rejected for title transfer by the county earlier this month. They did not fill out/pay the Vermont title transfer tax forms PT-272 and PT-273. My attorney is scheduling a signing for them and hopefully this will result in the title being recorded properly. Maybe they just need some hand holding through the process.

    It will take some time but i think this is good news indicating the bank is close to owning it.  

This does seem very strange. I don't have all information yet. I assume my attorney will have some recommended action for me soon.

Yes, i'm sure there is more to this story. The attorney is still working on it.  From what I understand the seller does not currently have standing to pass the title to me. I think city bank is foreclosing on it but the process is not yet complete. The lady who owns it came into the town office to pay the property taxes while my attorney was doing the title search.  I guess that was fairly awkward.  She must still have some interest in it if she is keeping up on the taxes. 

I am seeking advice and wondering if anyone else has been in this situation.  I put the funds together to buy my first fixer upper investment property. After eight months of searching i found it and have it under contract.  It is a City bank/mortgage foreclosure serviced by ServiceLink/ black knight.  Per many people's advice i decided to use my own attorney and not go with the free one offered by the seller (good move it turns out).      

My attorney did the title work and found that City bank has the only lien on the property but they do not own it. The lady still owns the property yet City bank has it for sale and had it on MLS etc.

     My attorney called city bank and  they confirmed they do not own it.  So, now i have a signed contract with city bank for a property they do not own.  

       This property was for sale before it was "foreclosed" and the lady wanted what she owed on it (more than it is worth). The foreclosure might be in process but it is not final. I think all parties involved want it sold. I'm thinking maybe this is a short sale opportunity or will the bank just wait until it is foreclosed and let me have it per our contract? 

It seems like city bank messed up big on this one? For a bank to put a house under contract that they don't own seem criminal. People including myself were trespassing in this lady's house when we being shown it. She was moved out and it is vacant so she might not care, but it still does not seem ok. 

That is pretty much what I would like to do.  The banks probably never check as long you keep making payments but I want be sure I am playing by the rules so there are no surprises. Rates are pretty good now and I would get one that I can lock the rate in as things change. I probably wont need to increase max draw. Good point about not being able to re-fi.

I would like to buy a house to fix up (I'm pretty handy). Some of the ones I have looked at will not qualify for a conventional mortgage. REO and auction properties are of the most interest to me. Being in a position to make a cash offer is an advantage of the HELOC too.

Hi,

I'm new to buying a rental. I own my primary residence outright and would like take a out a HELOC on it and buy another property with the intention that the new property would eventually become my primary residence (might need to fix it up first). I would like to keep my house now and rent it out. I see a lot of people get a HELOC to buy rentals but that keeps the HELOC under their primary. I have talked to lenders and can't seem to get a straight answer to if this is ok.

The problem is that eventually the HELOC would be attached to an investment property (my current primary residence). I just want to make sure this isn't going to be a problem. If so what do I do about it?

I want to get a HELOC because it allows me to make cash offers, buy property at auction etc. I would get one with a fix rate lock option in case prime heads up.

Thanks for your advice!