Question: (Texas) We have recently started the process of buying the home we currently live in. We were approved for a loan and everything got as far as waiting on a closing date. The hold up was that the title company hadn't gotten it's paperwork to the lender. Today we were told that the title company would not release the title because there was a judgement filed on us in 2001 regarding an unsecured credit card. We obviously don't own the home yet but they said they have a hold on the property with us having the judgement.
We were told that we need to get the judgement situation resolved, but we are not able to pay what is owed. We just found out about it ourselves. We were never served with papers saying that the credit card company filed the judgement.
Anyway, the broker said that legally they can not hold this over the property. I was trying to find out if this is so and what's the best thing for us to do at this point. We have already paid out a lot of money to purchase this home that we won't be getting back. Thanks for your help.
Answer: Something does not sound right, here. To begin with, the only "paperwork" that a title company delivers to a lender is the Title Commitment. So, if that is the paperwork to which you are referring, then okay.
However, here is where your email becomes somewhat confusing to me: A title company only identifies items for the home being purchased pertaining to the title which the title company is being asked to transfer from a seller to a buyer. Items such as liens against a property, that may or may not be the result of judgments, are listed on a Schedule C of the title commitment.
You are a buyer, renting your home. Buyers do not have judgments that end up as liens attached to a property, because the buyer has no property to which to attach a lien. If a buyer previously owned a property, then any lien that was the result of a judgement (say filed by a credit card company) would have had to have been paid off from the proceeds of the sale of that property. Of course, if you still own another property (or properties), then it might make sense that you could have a lien attached to the other property that the title company may have discovered.
One of the actions that a lender performs as a result of a loan application is that the lender runs a credit report on the buyer. If a credit card company has a judgement against you, it isn't likely that the credit card company obtained the judgement without any notification to you. In this country there is such a thing as "due process" and a company, credit card or otherwise, has to do very specific things before a court of law will issue a judgement. That said, the question that now raises itself is, how did you obtain loan approval from your lender if you had an outstanding judgement filed against you?
As I said at the beginning of my reply, something does not sound right. If the Realtor with whom you are working represents you (you would have signed a Buyer/Tenant Representation Agreement) then ask him or her about what I've said. However, if the Realtor listed the property you are buying, then he or she represents the seller and is obligated to pass any information that comes to his or her knowledge on to the seller, but is obligated to treat you as the buyer fairly and honestly. If that is the case, you should speak with your lender directly and/or the title company closer.
Question: (Florida) We recently put a "for sale by owner" sign in front of our home. A Realtor came by with a gentleman who wanted to look at the house. Well, he liked it and came back again with his wife.
Later that same day they put in an offer. I counter offered and we agreed upon full asking price.
We listed the house as is with rights to inspect and the inspections all came back positive. Looking at the contract last night it says that the buyer could sue us if we chose not to sell. It also says that the broker for the buyer could sue us for the commission. I think we walked into this a little less prepared than we thought. I don't want to wind up with my eggs fried.
If the appraisal comes in higher than what we asked for the home not having had a market analysis done, can we ask the appraisal price? Or are we stuck with our original price?
Answer: According to your email you signed the contract of your own free will at the full asking price and upon terms to which you contractually agreed. So, you are stuck with that price and those terms.
You apparently did walk into the sale of your home less prepared than you would have had you hired a Florida licensed real estate firm. Hind sight is a marvelous teacher.
Question: (New Jersey) I've entered into a listing agreement with a discount broker. It's been almost a full month and not one Realtor or buyer has been through the house. I want to break the contract and list with another agency. Homes in this area are selling with little effort. My home is in great condition. It has all new renovations and shows great since it is clean, neat, no clutter, and nicely landscaped, to name just a few of its positive features.
It's priced as per the market conditions and what has been selling within a 1/2 mile radius. I've contacted the listing agent and complained of the problem but I'm always given lip service saying they'll communicate to all agents the situation and try to increase the traffic.
Additionally, I'm closing on a new house in the middle of the month and I'll be paying two mortgages and a bridge loan if the current house does not sell. Please help. What can I do here?
Answer: "You get what you pay for" is a saying that is especially applicable here. The problem most frequently encountered is that too many consumers haven't the foggiest idea of what a real estate agent does, much less whether the agent is doing what he or she is supposed to do. So the consumer "decides" it must have something to do with the fees charged and then -- based solely upon that decision, seeks a discount. This action is not what I would describe as "informed consent" but rather "uninformed hopefulness."
About the only thing you can do is to assert a claim that the real estate firm did not provide you with the level of service you anticipated from them. In an effort to save on the costs associated with paying real estate commissions, you have discovered the hard way that real estate agents have much more to offer than simply placing a listing in an MLS.
However, I am not recommending that you break your contract. Communicate with the listing agent's broker and let him or her know that you firmly believe you were misled by the listing agent as well as the broker's firm. Tell the broker you demand to be released from the listing agreement and failing that you are prepared to take your complaints to the Better Business Bureau in your area and file a complaint against the broker and the broker's listing agent with the Department Of Banking and Insurance .
Be very cautious about what you base your demands upon, though. If the listing agent did not misrepresent the level of service you would receive and you received exactly what you paid for, then I believe you would be well-advised to consult an attorney at law experienced in real estate matters.
Question: (Virginia) My sister-in-law bought a house. The seller is a Realtor. She promised to have central air installed in the house with the sale. She led my sister-in-law (and her Realtor) to believe that there was a simple delay and it would be put in the week of the closing.
My sister-in-law signed the loan agreements and the air conditioning was never put in. Upon my sister-in-law balking, the seller sent over an air conditioning installer who said he would put in a used unit from another house and that was good as it gets. Supposedly the Realtor/seller made an escrow check out to the mortgage company for this. My sister-in-law has had possession of the home two weeks now with no air. Also the Realtor told my sister-in-law tough luck on the keys to the door locks except the front door. She said she never had keys to fit any dead bolts or locks and told her to pay for it if she wanted keys. Is there any recourse for such shenanigans?
Answer: Contact the Virginia Real Estate Board. There is a toll-free number on the website for your sister-in-law to call to file a complaint against the Realtor who was the seller as well as the Realtor who represented your sister-in-law in the event you suspect she wasn't doing her job. In addition, if you were caught by surprise at closing or dissatisfied with the Good Faith Estimate provided by the lender, the Virginia State Corporation Commission's website also lists a link to the page to file a complaint against the mortgage lender.
