Hello; thank you for making a site such as this open to the public. What a wealth of information!
We are the buyers on a SS serviced by Nationstar. We accepted their negotiator's counter in late May. We received an approval in early August, with an expiration date of Oct. 15th. The house had been winterized, and now is experiencing what is obviously a mold issue in the basement. Our lawyer has told us that, as per our contract, it is up to the seller or Nationstar's property management company to de-winterize the house, and also that they have inspected the basement and submitted a request to repair it.
I'm so confused by this, since when do short sales make repairs? I thought it was as-is only, and of course because the property had no mold I was expecting there to be somewhat of a reduction in price. The problem is, we can't seem to get an answer on anything! We offered to have the water turned on at our cost as long as we had a solid answer of what would happen concerning the mold (we fix it, they fix it, whatever!) My lawyer constantly says he has never seen an approval but such a delay in de-winterization; which is now compounded by the mold. My real estate agent seems to no longer have any interest in being in our court; she says well maybe we should start looking for another house!
Has anyone experienced something similar? Does Nationstar (or whoever they contract the property out to) make such repairs? Do they reduce price? Do they de-winterize the home?
Should we walk away? This house is absolutely perfect for us and our growing family. Not to mention our mortgage commitment has an interest rate of 3.75, which would now be a whole point higher if we start again! Thank you for any advice,
Kelly
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@ Rodney, we are using a very specific loan program; our rate is locked until we walk from this house, then we must go back at whatever the prevailing interest rate is. I don't really want to disclose what type of loan it is, but you guys can probably figure it out. Also, our lawyer led us to believe this particular home would be a relatively easy process,as it had recently approved for the same price, but the buyers walked b/c they couldn't obtain financing (supposedly). AND this particular seller is what I would call a strategic defaulter, they bought another house, then stopped making the payments on this one, at least as far as I can tell by searching the county clerks records.
The estimate is a little under $10k, which is far less than I thought it would be, so Bryant, you were right.
I'm hoping Nationstar will agree to fix it, as they knew what type of loan we were using when they approved it, it happened after contract, and it makes the home inhabitable unless it is a cash buyer or renovation loan.
I will continue to update you guys, thanks for all the advice!
@Ron, want to buy this mortgage debt and fix it for me? :). Thanks for your perspective, much obliged.
Purchasing a home via short sale is not at all an easy process. These homes are sold in "As Is" condition. Most sellers are not in a financial position to make any repairs. Since title has not been transferred, the bank is not the owner of the prperty. Legally, they cannot make any repairs. If they have been given notice that it has been abandoned, they can secure the home.
Mold is a health/safety issue. You would not be allowed to close on a non-Renovation mortgage with mold present.
I would also suggest that you confirm that you are actually locked in at a 3.75% rate. Most interst rate locks are for 60 days. You can often pay for extensions beyond that. I do not recall the market dropping under 4% on a 30 Yr Fixed in more than 60 days though.
Thank you for responding! We have a company coming out tomorrow to give an estimate; but I know my price point so I have this terrible feeling we won't be getting this house, :(. I'll give updates so maybe someone else going through this can benefit. I just don't understand how anyone (seller, bank) could let a house develop such an issue, especially when they know only a cash buyer could buy it! (Or a 203k, which we are not).
Hi Kelly. I'm one of the founders of this site so thank you for your kind words.
NS will not do repairs. The seller can if they have the means to do so.
So yo can accept the property as is. See of the seller can remedy the problem. Get 2 estimates form licensed contractors and submit these with a price reduction request.
You may find that the mold is not as big an issue as it seems. Repairs normally look much more expensive that they are. I would get estimates now so you can make a decision on whether to accept the property as is or not.
I hope this helps.
There is a 0% chance any repairs will be made by preservation. At this point in the process any price change or credit will result in the transaction having to be approved all over again. Any contract with an As-Is addendum attached to it would not stipulate that the bank or seller makes any repairs. Unless the seller is willing to handle any of these items it is on you, or you can release.
Good luck, if you want the house that bad the repairs are on you.