I have a signed contract for a 6 family by the owner of the building however my attorney and his agent can not get a hold of him to move forward with the deal. I understand that the property is heading to foreclosure however from speaking with the bank, they are not involved, yet. Looking for some suggestions on next steps. This is the first time something like this has happened to me.
Sounds frustrating. Does your state and contract allow you to sue for specific performance? If so, send the seller a certified letter that you are ready to close and/or move forward and ask if he needs more time and if so, to let you know. However, you are being placed in a difficult position and the contract is valid so you just want to close the deal.
Real Estate Investor · FL · Member since 2011 · 586 posts · 360 votes
6y
@Paul Slawski Is there seller local? It would be worth driving by his house to see if there's any activity, I'd go on trash day and see if there are any trashcans out. You never know, he might've had an accident or a family emergency. You could always try calling from a different phone number and see if he answers. If he's heading towards foreclosure then he's probably getting several calls from the bank and/or debt collectors daily so he might not answer. Another idea would be to look him up on facebook and see if there's any recent activity.
I've found that sellers facing foreclosure are usually facing other difficult financial situations as well. They're getting bombarded with calls from debt collectors and letters from attorneys. The threat of another lawsuit to force specific performance will likely have a much lower chance of success than with a normal situation. I'd personally go the gentle route for as long as I could and try your best to help the guy. Once you threaten a lawsuit he might just tell you to get in line.
Thank you both for your comments. Unfortunately, the seller is out of state so I can't do a drive by or knock on the door. I like the idea of sending a certified letter which might be helpful if not just to inform the seller that I'm ready to move forward but to have a record of me reaching out to him in case this could potentially end up a legal matter. I do not know if my state allows me to sue for specific performance. Something I'll have to look into.