OMG! Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes a new horror story that makes the thought of doing short sales even more disgusting than before!!
Because of our intense hatred of all banks (BofA and Chase head the top of the list) we decided to stop doing short sales, and most conventional real estate transaction last summer and have been buying and flipping properties instead!
The last short sale we did was one we were referred to in October of 2009 (no good deed goes unpunished!!). The client (Tom) had recently lost his job due to downsizing and, to make matters worse, his mother had been diagnosed with a life threatening disease. There was no way we could turn this opportunity down to assist him so we took the listing on his one bedroom condo in southern California. He had purchase it in 2007 for $224K and we figured the current value was about $125K. We put it on the market and got an offer for $130K within a couple of weeks! Tom moved out of state to assist his mother in her remaining days on earth and we were happy to have an offer. After 5 months of negotiating with BofA (loan servicer) with 2 different negotiators, we finally got approval for a sale price of $123k!! (First negotiator said it was worth $180K!!!- Surprise)!
We closed the deal in April, 2010 and both the Seller and Buyer were ecstatic! All was right with the world!
Fast forward to July 2011! Last week, we received a document from our Seller that he had received. Are you sitting down? It was a LAW SUIT on behalf of MERS and Fannie Mae (Plaintiffs) against the Seller and Buyer (Defendants) and a possible 23 other defendants, (Does) who are at this point unnamed!
The island resident had her two-bedroom house on the market for about two years before buyers came forward with an offer she was willing to accept.
Then, the unthinkable happened. The buyers walked.
“In my contract, the reason they stated they were not going to close on the home was the BP oil spill,” said Dickinson, whose beachfront home is listed for $848,000. “I was supposed to close my home on May 17, and May 7, the buyers walked away. Every month I’m here in my home past May 17 it’s an economic damage.”
Dickinson said she filed a claim with BP but has gotten the “run around” from the company on whether it has been reviewed. She declined to say how much money she is hoping BP will pay.
Dickinson’s case appears to be a rare instance of the oil spill threatening local property sales. And, while Manatee County remains free of tar balls and sheen, island Realtors say the Deepwater Horizon spill has sparked concern among buyers.
“About 40 percent of the people that call in mention or ask about the oil spill,” said Liz Blandford, a sales agent for Island Real Estate. “They’re worried. I think people who don’t live here when they watch the news they make the assumption that oil’s covering our beaches. We’re just trying to let them know our beaches are clean.”
Still, Blandford said a few buyers have delayed purchase decisions.
“I think there is a real concern that the values can still drop,” Blandford said. “That’s why I think a small percentage of buyers are holding back, hoping prices will still drop.”
At Fran Maxon Real Estate, Stephanie Bell said the oil spill hasn’t led to cancellations on property purchases nor on vacation rentals listed with the Anna Maria real estate agency.
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