Lending answer:

I have a couple of friends who manage REOs on behalf of their bank employers. Both have a fund of stories about the difficulties in closing sales with buyers who sign contracts they have difficulty fulfilling. Bill's advice is spot on... if you missed a deadline you agreed to in the contract, you are in breach and the contract is void.

My friends tell me this happens most often with buyers working on their own - the banks' Realtors are simply following the banks' instructions, and if the buyer breaches the contract once, the assumption on the banks' side is that the buyers will fail to follow through on other matters. In such cases, my REO friends tell me, they'd rather return the property to market in hopes of obtaining another buyer rather than struggle to re-negotiate and re-close a breached contract. It doesn't mean the bank received a better offer... it means the seller has lost confidence in the buyer's ability to perform his portion of the deal.

My friends' experiences may not be the norm (one works for a regional bank; the other for a national bank), but I offer their stories to shed some light on working with REOs.

Hi Mark,
Ditto Bill, Bank owned properties can be complicated. You are not dealing with a person you are dealing with a very unemotional seller that just wants it sold. If you are not working with an agent I would recommend working with one, if you are, they should have made sure you did not miss your deadline.
Nancy

Nancy Doyle http://www.nancydrealtor.net
239-209-2237

Mark,

Yes, they can cancel the contract if it spacifically called for a home inspection by a certain date. An important note is that a real estate contract is a binding document that must be followed to the letter by both parties. Any deviation from the terms will void the contract.

Are you working with an agent? A real estate professional should have made sure this deadline was maintained. If you are "solo, these are the things that tend to happen.......