So I finally started my real estate journey back mid-summer....
I found a local property on Auction.com and drove by to check it out - decent neighborhood, vacant, and didn't appear to be in too bad of shape. So I went thru the process of registering to bid. The $2500 cancellation fee made me a bit nervous but I understood that was to prevent anyone who wasn't a serious buyer from bidding. I had the cash in CDs to cover my maximum bid so that wasn't a concern.
I waited until the final day of bidding to see what it would be going for. Turns out no one else had bid so I entered the minimum. I bid back and forth with someone else (I assume it was Auction.com bidding on behalf of the seller). It eventually hit the reserve and I won the auction! Wooah!
I went thru and wired the earnest money, signed the contract, and broke the news to my girlfriend that I had bought a house online... ha!
It was taking a bit longer to get the signed contract from the seller. So I called. And was finally told that they were working on getting the signed contract from the seller but that the servicing agent was in the process of being transitioned from Cenlar to Rushmore and that while Cenlar didn't have the 'file' anymore that Rushmore hadn't 'onboarded' it yet. However, I was told that the seller had indicated that they intended to go forward with the transaction but it had to work its way through their process. Cool! However, it was taking a loooong time (months) so I kept calling... and calling and would get the same message. "The seller intends to go thru but we don't have an update but we are reaching out to them." That was fine since we were closing in on fall and school had started, which meant it'd likely be harder to rent. So I decided to be patient.
Finally last month (while I was at the BP Conference in Nashville no less), I got a message from Auction.com that the seller had signed and we had an executed contract! Awesome!!! So I liquidated my CDs and incurred a substantial early withdrawal penalty but it'd be cheaper than borrowing the funds so that was ok.
Having read that it was better to use your own title company, I decided to use a local lawyer and put Auction.com in touch with them. Last week, I got a message from the local atty that we had a closing date of Nov 18th at 1pm. Finally!
So Last Friday (Nov 16th), I called Auction.com to find out how I could get access to the property since there was a lock box. I called went thru the usual "Is there an address of a property I can help you with?", told them the address, and was told that after closing on Monday I'd be able to call and get the code but could do whatever I needed to at that time to get in the property. Again awesome!
I got a call yesterday (Monday) morning before closing from the local closing atty that they didn't have everything the needed for closing and would be back in contact to reschedule. Ok. I've been patient this long and besides - repairing and trying to get rented this close to the holidays isn't ideal.
Well, this morning, I get a call from Auction.com that there's been some type of confusion between them and the seller and that the property has reverted to HUD?! Uh.. ok. And as a result, they won't be following thru with the contract?! Wait... what ?! I, still in a bit of shock, point out that I've incurred expenses (e.g. CD early redemption) as a result of the info they've provided and that I have a signed contract. They politely pointed out that the contract allows the seller to back out.
So, needless to say, I'm running through a range of emotions - disappointment, perplexed, angry, and just p**ssed off. I'm not entirely sure what 'reverted to HUD' means and neither was the person I spoke to at Auction.com. Or why after months of "the seller intends to proceed with the contract" that the seller... didn't.. proceed.
Anyway, if you've read this far. Thanks! I needed to vent. Also, any advice is appreciated. Ugh.
