My husband and I live in Charlotte, NC. We really want to purchase a house that is now held up in bankruptcy.
April 22: We submitted our offer on the house (a short sale)
April 28: Sellers filed for bankruptcy
May 4: Sellers signed contract/accepted our offer
May 14: Bank/mortgage lender (CCO Mortgage) accepts our offer
May 30: Bankruptcy hearing date for sellers. We hear that the trustee wil not allow the house to close until the bankruptcy is discharged, which could take 60 days to a year.
My uncle who is a real estate lawyer in Oregon said that the mortgage lender (CCO Mortgage) can petition the bankruptcy court for a release of the house because the sellers owed more on the house than it was worth. He said the bankruptcy laws are federal, so should apply to all states.
We have tried contacting CCO Mortgage, I can't reach anyone who can give me a definitive answer on how to proceed, they say we should go to the bankruptcy attorney for the sellers and have them file the petition for release?
Does anyone have experience with a situation like this, and what should we do next? We don't want to wait for the house to be returned to the market because it could turn into a multiple offer situation, and we have lost out on several mutiple offer situations in the past. We really love the house.
Any comments appreciated. Our realtor hasn't been too helpful and says we should give up.
Denise
Replies
Denise - The seller's attorney needs to ask for permission from the court. You should ask your agent to find out why it's not possible, or at least, if they are working on it. If you don't get an answer, or find out they will not or cannot get permission to sell the house more quickly, you'll have to decide if the house is worth waiting for.