[quote=FlyerInHi]I got the prelim from the title officer. it’s a day old.
The property is in escrow. The seller is about to file for bankruptcy I believe, and he’s in talks with his bankruptcy attorney. Of course, there’s more that I’m not privy to.
I think this is a case where spdrun would say the seller is stupid in that there’s no need to tell title/escrow what they can’t find out by themselves.
It looks like a deal to me for I can’t foresee anyone bringing suit to get title, and successfully doing so. If anything, any claimant would only be entitled to a share of the proceed of the sale.[/quote]Did you check the civil and domestic (court) registers in your county for the seller’s name, FIH? Is/was the seller party to suit that is about to conclude or has recently concluded? If so, have you seen the judgment?
You do realize that there is a waiting period (varies by state) before a judgment creditor can take legal action to collect their judgment, right?
You didn’t state if the seller had always owned the property by themselves or if it was quitclaimed to them as sole owner at some point.
Since your seller told you he/she was considering filing for BK protection, have you asked them why they are finding it necessary to consider that? Are you sure they haven’t already filed? If they waffle the answer to this question or refuse to discuss it with you, that is a “red flag” indicating they have something to hide from you.
The fact that they are contemplating filing for BK protection (and refuse to pay for a title report to guarantee marketable title to real property they want to unload on some poor sucker?) should be another waving red flag to their prospective buyer who knew about their intention but was “not privy” to the details.
