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You got the House!!! Oh Sorry You Didn't!!!

I have encountered a situation recently that really has me concerned and would appreciate your input on this. I made a bid on a short sale property in Manteca and a week later received a counteroffer from the agent stating that the hot tub wasn't staying and that the property was a short sale. We signed the counteroffer and no boxes were checked that multiple counteroffers had been made.

I had a concern about the fact that the stove was removed a few days later and called the agent. I received a call back stating that we did not get the property, even though the counteroffer mentioned anything about that. I could understand a legitimate mistake, but when I confronted the agent about this, they could not really give a good reason as to why I was sent the counteroffer without boxes being checked.

A loan agent I worked with told me that they got through the whole loan process before and when they were ready to fund the agent told the title company that they sold it to another person. Is this a common thing that is going on? Your comments are greatly appreciated on this matter.

Matthew Zgonc
www.buysellmodesto.com

Posted by Matthew Zgonc, Realtor, CFS, CVS on 03/06/2008 11:55 AM

Comments (17)

manteca, buy, sell, modesto, counteroffer, agent, realtor, short sale, property, problems, purchase agreement, contracts

17 Comments on You got the House!!! Oh Sorry You Didn't!!!

MAR

2008

I have heard of banks backing out (on the selling/listing side) but not that late in the game. Does your broker think that you have any recourse?

No, since we can't prove that they did not accept other offers prior to us submitting the counter offer back.

However my consumer is contact local news agencies and papers to expose this scam to the consumer.

I'm not familiar with what "boxes" you are referencing in your promulgated form, but my question is this? Was the counter-offer fully executed by the buyer and seller? If so, it sounds to me like you have a contract (either bilateral, or unilateral if there was an option/feasibility period) and if they failed to sell to you/your client under the terms they agreed to, you can tie up the property if your contracts include a "specific performance" provision (and in most cases, even if it doesn't).

Yes the counter offer was fully executed by both parties. There was no option or feasbility period specified, which was weird.

Matthew,

I saw that you said you had made a counteroffer, but no mention that it was accepted. If it is not in writing and signed off on by the bank, there is no contract. I always worry on foreclosure deals because the bank takes so long to get ratified contracts back to me. Short sales aren't much different as the bank still has final say to accept the offer. I agree that if your forms require a box to be checked if there are multiple offers, you should have been notified.

That is my issue Mike. I have no problem that they didn't accept the contract, but I do have a problem that they did not mention anything about the multiple offers.

Hey Matt, if the counter-offer was fully executed (Matthew said it was) and this was not a foreclosure (short-sale, not foreclosure) and there was no contingency in the counter-offer stating it had to be approved by the mortgagee, then you have a contract and the lender has nothing to do with it. I realize this is a lot of "ifs", but it sounds like the other agent needs to be called on the carpet for his one.

I just am trying to figure out what to do regarding this. I have never encountered this situation before.

My mistake...my last post was referencing Mike's response and I mistakenly addressed it to "Matt" instead of "Mike." I'd reveiw the forms thoroughly to make sure all your facts are correct, then take to your broker for direction, but if all you say is absolutely correct, you have a serious issue here and the agent / seller have a serious problem on their hands too.

Matthew,

I would certainly get your broker involved and see what options are open to you. Could be a simple sorry, they made a mistake to something more serious. I certainly could'nt even speculate without reading all the documents. Hope you can get some kind of resolve in this.

Thanks Mike. I have gotten the broker involved, but it doesn't look good at all for my buyer.

Hi Matt - let us know how far this gets, I would be hopping mad, if I were the buyer. How is he taking it?

I have been hearing about this with regard to Short Sales. Not REO.

But in Short Sales, I am hearing that the banks are just collecting the offers that come in and not returning signed docs until they get around to it. And if another offer comes along better than an earlier one, they are taking it. True, there is no contract, but that behavior is already having pretty strong consequences- Buyers have heard and won't deal with Short Sales.

REO on the other hand- No. Although it is pretty common for the banks to take FOREVER about getting the signed contract back to the Buyer. But REO has always been like that, and most banks don't want to deal with any other offers if they are already involved in accepting another, even without it being signed around.

MAR

2008

The buyer is going to all the local newspapers and is beyond upset. He is going to file a complaint with the commission regarding this.

Many buyers in this area do not know about this in terms of short sales. My issue is tell me that you have other offers or better yet just tell me our bid is in the mid-range and don't bother sending me a counter-offer.

Matthew,

Thank you for sharing the issue. What a scary and painful experience--hope you get some positive outcome from all of this.

I just was curious if anyone else has encountered this, plus venting a little bit and trying to figure out how to resolve this issue.

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