Timeline questions...or maybe I'm just impatient…?
So I am hoping that someone here can help me a bit with the timing of a short sale. I’m gonna give the long version as I think it will cover most everything I know…and hopefully help someone help me.
About a year ago I caught wind of a family friend who wanted to sell their property and move into the city. Currently it’s in semi-desirable area about an hour outside the main metro area. My husband and I inquired as to what their asking price might be, and we got a tour. Now, let me just say it’s a late middle aged couple with health issues, so the property was understandably over grown and we knew it wouldn’t be in the best shape. What we didn’t know is just how bad it really was…I’m talking most people wouldn’t actually consider it livable with the exception of emergency circumstances. To make matters worse even though it’s 5 acres, the “house” is actually a mobile home that has a rocked in base/skirt.
Anyway the owners told us that they’d be glad to sell it for only what they owed, approx. $55k. The problem is that we’ve been looking at properties in this area for some time, and we knew full well it wasn’t nearly worth that amount. We did tell them this, and let them know there is no way we could offer that much…nor would a bank loan that much. After a few months they told us that they were several house payments behind and that the bank (Chase) had suggested a short sale. They asked if we’d still be interested, and we told them we might be depending on the price. We didn’t know it but they hadn’t actually applied for the SS process yet with Chase. It took MONTHS for them to just get their paperwork straight with Chase to be able to qualify/do a short sale.
Fast forward a bit… We both decided to use the same realtor as we had heard of horror stories of one party’s realtor messing up the whole thing and causing delays. My husband and I decided that we would make a cash offer only, as we’re certain no bank will ever loan on this (seriously…it’s destroyed!). We also opted to have no inspections required as we’re just planning to tear the whole thing down.
Things have been at a snail’s pace since then, and I am not 100% sure why…or if it’s even a problem. Seriously I’m reading the forums and other people’s experiences and wondering if I’m just being impatient. (it’s been known to happen!)
6/23 – The realtor called and we went in and placed an offer the same day. We offered a low, but what seemed fair price for the actual property knowing that we would have to remove the old trailer/structure.
6/30 – The seller accepted our offer and said that it could be sent to Chase.
7/5 – We learned that really our offer wasn’t “real” until after the appraisal and BPO was done, and the property had been on the market for a set amount of time.
7/13 – The appraisal and such are finally completed. The MLS listing was set to an asking price as if the property had $16k worth of repairs!
7/22 – Chase assigned us a negotiator, who had supposedly started reviewing the appraisal & BPO, as well as our offer.
7/28 – The negotiator tells the realtor that the offer has to be submitted to HUD; and that he thinks our offer is too low, and that it will take approx. another $8k to "go through". We declined and told them that we would hold at our original number.
**Here's where I got a bit confused…I was excited cause I thought this was the HUD-1 paperwork that comes at the end, but apparently NOT what this is at all.
8/12 – The ATP (have no idea what that even is!) has been submitted to HUD for approval. Negotiator told the realtor that it would only take a week or so for it to be approved, or not. Once HUD approved Chase would have the final consideration for 15 days on the offer. (supposedly Chase could still say no?)
**At this point the realtor told us that we would possibly have an answer back by the end of August based on what he’d been told.
8/30 – Realtor tells me that Chase is still waiting on HUD approval…And that Chase still has 15 days after this comes in back to say yes or no! (Sheesh! It was supposed to take a week, not like 4 weeks!)
Can anyone explain what on earth HUD has to do with anything if we're not talking about HUD-1 paperwork? I swear the realtor keeps telling me to be patient. I am trying… I think my problem is that we got involved way earlier than most buyers; as we've been talking to the sellers for over a year now. So while the real timeline started only in June, for me it feels like a lot longer.
Any answers, advice, condolences will be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!