Sandy Pearce's Discussions

What type of loan is it? In Virginia (at least in my area outside of D.C.)  it is commonplace to have an appraisal contingency. An agent would be neglecting their fiduciary duty in this kind of a market NOT to have the contingency in place for their buyers.

The house will still have to appraise, so if the values have dropped the builder will have to drop his price too, or the lender won't loan you the money. There must be a financing and/or appraisal contingency in the contract?

If you can't get an answer from the seller's agent, don't expect the transaction to go through. Most short sales require diligence and patience AND cooperation from the listing agent. Find another home.