Zillow Advice: Home Buying - Short Sale Turned into Foreclosure - ADVICE

Here's the thing though, ...

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:39:00 GMT

Here's the thing though, it is not currently in foreclosure. It is a short sale. The owners and bank agreed to sell it at a loss so that the owner can just get out from under it. The owner is in no way trying to get the house back. They moved out of the house five months ago, they didn't trash it or anything and they have been easy to reach anytime the listing agent needed to get in touch with them.
With bankruptcy pending it locks up the title so that it can't be sold unless the bankruptcy judge allows it to happen (according to the listing agent). We just want to know if anybody has seen this happen and what the outcome is. We really want this house because we are getting it about 15% under market value and we love the neighborhood. If we walk away the chances of getting another deal like this is slim. Thanks for the help.

In most cases I have seen, ...

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:14:00 GMT

In most cases I have seen, a bankruptcy only pauses a foreclosure for a few weeks at most. Once the bank gets court approval to continue with the foreclosure, they can sell the property.

* I am not an attorney. Contact an attorney for legal advice.

That is one heck of a mess.Let's ...

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:00:00 GMT

That is one heck of a mess.

Let's assume the bank begins foreclosure proceedings immediately. In Minnesota there is a 6 week period where the bank advertises the foreclosure action, prior to the sheriffs sale. Then the homeowners have from 5 weeks (unusual) to 6 months to 'redeem' the home from foreclosure. Essentially (in this scenario) you would be locked out of buying the home for 7 plus months, if not more.

Even if the listing agent were able to salvage the deal via bankruptcy court, my guess is this will take months and months and cost you way too much money. My advice would be to move on and find something else. That listing agent is one tenacious person. I would've canceled that contract after what the sellers did to them.