We are trying to purchase a home that is in “short sale,” and foreclosure proceedings have already begun. The home is listed at $285K; our initial offer was for $244K. The sellers countered at $285K and did not consult the bank prior to giving their counter offer. We submitted two more offers – $249K and $260K – and never got any response from the listing agent, who now will not even return phone calls from our agent. In a short sale situation, doesn’t the listing agent have to consult the bank when they accept/reject any offer? What options do we have in this situation?
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Legally, their agent has to present all offers no matter how lowball. The bank has to get involved because they may not accept a short sale for the amount you want….they have to eat the loss.
I would look elsewhere or have him call their agent’s broker if the other agent isn’t aggressive enough or not returning calls. Many banks have a computer model of what they will accept and won’t budge for weeks, then the house goes into full foreclosure at a much greater loss.
If the listing agent isnt calling you back, call his office and ask to speak to the broker/manager of the office. How long has it been since you made your offer? Short sales take AROUND 4-6 weeks to get APPROVED. The offer should have had a few conditions on it as well(subject to lender accepting a short sale, no home warranty, and sold in as-is condition). if the broker doesnt help you, you might want to move onto a new home.
I am in the process of establishing a new company to help people just like you. Many people cant afford to take Short Sale classes and/or do not have the time. Short Sales are highly complexed. If there is any other questions I can help out with, shoot me an email.
Good luck and dont take no for an answer!
I would guess that the agent has a fiduciary duty to the seller but not the bank. Sure, the agent SHOULD submit all offers to the bank but is probably under no fiduciary duty to do so. Once the bank forecloses and hires a broker to market the property then that broker will have a fiduciary duty to the bank and will have to present all offers to the bank. If the seller hired the broker then the broker will do what the seller wants. Remember the seller may be in for a large tax bill depending upon how much they are “underwater” on their loan. So, they may be trying to minimize that amount by not looking at offers below their list price. Perhaps you should wait until the property is foreclosed upon?