Patti Phillips

Monica, You have gotten a lot of good advice, I only have 2 things to contribute. One thing that hasn't been answered is how title is held. Depending on how title is held, you may be able to rent out or sell your "portion" of the home.

In addition, I would write a letter, carefully describing your situation to the other siblings (the letter should propbably come from your husband, not you.) Tell them your financial situation, the inability to pay what they want, and spell out what solutions you see, ie- to sell your portion to them, to someone else, to rent out your portion or to have them pay for renovations, keep receipts and you can have it taken out of your portion in the future when it sells, when they buy you out, or you can pay back your debts when money is not so tight.

Keep copies of all letters and such, and have some sort of proof of service, showing that you are trying to do the best for all. Sometimes a letter can be read, and digested without so much of the emotion of a phone call or e-mail. It also shows that you tried to be a problem solver, rather than a problem maker.

I wish you the best in this.

Patti Phillips
800-680-9133 - Thu May 8 2008, 16:05

Jay, Why would they want to buy in this market? Because the interest rates are great, and while, depending on the market and area, the price of the properties may still go down, if the interest rates increase a buyer could be paying a lot more for their payments due to higher interest than they will by a slight decrease in the price.

In addition, at lieast in my area of North San Diego County, things are selling like crazy! I haven't seen sales boards for 3 years like I have seen in the past 2 months. People waiting for the market to completely "bottom out" may miss the bottom and get higher home prices AND higher interest rates. There is a lot of inventory, giving people lots of choices- so this is all around a great time to buy!

Patti Phillips
800-680-9133 - Thu May 8 2008, 15:53

Chris, The reason many agents don't jump at the chance to show you short sales are many. First of all, we can get into a transaction and never know if and when it will be approved. Often, the banks are so back-logged that they may not decide whether or not they will accept the offer for 1, 2, 3, even 6 months. Then, once they do decide to accept the offer they decide, at their whim, and often a day or two before the close of escrow, that "there is no money in the deal to pay an agent." So, on a transaction that takes considerably MORE work than a normal transaction we may get no pay, 500.00 or quite a bit less than was agreed upon in the MLS.

Buyers end up frustrated with the whole procedure, and we end up with little or no pay. Most buyers don't want to pay agent's commissions out of their pocket, so we have to decide whether we are going to take the gamble.

Would you go to work for the next 3 months if you weren't sure you would get your paycheck, or if you did, whether it was the amount that was owed, or what the employer decided they would throw your way?

Patti Phillips
800-680-9133 - Thu May 8 2008, 15:49

Connie, In this economy you are very prudent to be conerned about the owner defaulting on the property you are buying. I had a tragic phone call a few months ago from someone who had put down $18K and had made large monthly payments in excess of the seller's monthly mortgage, only to find that they were served papers on an impending auction on the property. All 9 months that they had been paying the seller WASN'T!!! Imagine.

My suggestion is that everything be spelled out very clearly in your initial agreement, just as Dot said. I would have a Realtor or attorney protect you in this. Have an escrow opened, with the deposit and any monthly amount that is targeted toward the purchase to go into the escrow account. Not only will you know that your money is protected, it will also help you when you are ready to complete the purchase. It will show the lender your track record of making payments.

In addition, I would suggest that you formulate (and contracturally document) that you have a proof of payment to the mortgage lender each month- whether the seller faxes you confirmation of receipt of payment, allows you to view the lender's payment website, or whatever- you need to know that the monthly payments (and taxes) are current.

Lastly, if you are going to be making improvements to the property during the lease option time period I would protect yourself there somehow also, in your contract.

Last, some lease options file a lien against the deed for the amount of the deposit, until the lease option is excersized. This is a bit more difficult to get the seller to agree to, because if you were to default on your portion, they have the lien, so they may not go for it.

Protect yourself- and the seller, in every step of the transaction!

Patti Phillips
800-680-9133 - Wed Mar 19 2008, 12:05

Dear C- I am so sorry you have had this turn of events! There are definately required steps that must be taken by the bank. I agree that you should see a real estate attorney IMMEDIATELY to see what can be done. I wish you the best.....

Patti Phillips
800-680-9133 - Sun Mar 16 2008, 19:31