[quote=Jack]Has anyone pursued legal action against a short seller for failure to live up to their part of the contract?
For example, if they will not pay for the HOA package, would we be able to force them to pay by court order or mediation? Not that I would (my time is worth more than that), but if every short sale is like this, then what is the point of a contract in the first place?
Seems to me that if I performed as I said I would and lived up to my part of the contract, then I should be able to force the seller to perform or pay some sort of penalty for breach of contract.
Bottom line is, how much teeth do these purchase contracts have? Will the courts enforce them?[/quote]
A lot has transpired since I made the original post. Here’s an update:
-We agreed to pay the $$ for the HOA package (splitting it 50/50 with the seller’s agent).
-Additional back HOA fees surfaced which we worked out with the agents to split 4 ways.
All that sucks, but it’s the least of our problems. What happened next I did not see coming…
We signed escrow & loan docs and made our downpayment. A few days later, the seller had still not signed and we finally hear that they have decided to let the house go into foreclosure because of a notice from bank #2 to pursue them for the difference (bank is Chase by the way and apparently this letter is standard operating procedure even though they don’t go after them).
Both banks agreed in writing to my offer price. Regardless of whether #2 decides to go after the seller does not change the fact that we have a good contract, am I right? The short sale addendum is only there to say the sale is contingent on the lender approval–once we have that we have an enforceable contract (at least that’s my understanding and my lawyer agrees).
As I mentioned above, I have secured the services of an attorney and am beginning the process of suing seller for specific performance. We called the seller, sent a letter, basically tried to give them the opportunity to fulfill the contract (we were nice about it too!). They’ve effectively stuck their head in the sand and are waiting for this storm to pass.
Thoughts…? Attorney and myself think I have a solid case. This being my first time buying a home and suing someone, I would appreciate any input you smart pigs have (hopefully it’ll make me feel better and boost my confidence).
