Congratulations Snowbird!

Glad to hear it is coming together and your perseverance is paying off.


Sincerely,

Pam Cohn
Broker Associate, GRI, CDM
Real Estate Consulting, Marketing & Sales
Prudential Tropical Realty
pcohn@prutropical.com
727-204-7155

earnest money cleared yesterday... closing is scheduled for early December!
Pinch me, it's really happening. If you are not under pressure to move , a short sale
can work out!

Thanks for your helpful comments. :)

Yeah Snowbird,

Glad to hear you got some positive feedback. Hang in there!!

Sincerely,
Pam Cohn
Broker Associate GRI, CDM
Prudential Tropical Realty
727-204-7155
pcohn@prutropical.com

Good news! They bounced out the other offer that had a contingency, we are up! I still dont know what was
filed ... waiting for more news. :)

Snowbird,

A Lis Pendens has probably been filed by one or multiple lenders. The time period between filing and actually foreclosing on a property ranges vastly. If they are foreclosing the short sale will not go through. I am not sure you really know that yet. If your agent can not or will not check it out ,go to the Broker and voice your dis-satisfaction.

I am sorry you are not having a positive experience, as you can see from the people willing to offer their time and information most of our profession are are committed professionals. As a former snowbird...good luck and don't give up....we live where others vacation and you sound ready to join us.

Sincerely,
Pam Cohn
Broker Associate GRI, CDM
Prudential Tropical Realty
727-204-7155
pcohn@prutropical.com

Thanks everybody for your replies, very much appreciated. I emailed the County Clerk's office ( pinnelas)
to find out what is available online. I am out of state but have a local Realtor, albeit not a very helpful one.

This was their response to "how do I get docket info?"

" The judgment amount and sale date will appear on the docket as soon as the judge signs the final judgment and a sale is scheduled. The judgment amount may be available in the court file but is not a court ordered amount until the final judgment is submitted by the court. These files are public record, you may wish to have your realtor come and view the court file for all available information "

So, I think I need to have a stern conversation with my Realtor. I understand this is not a huge commission for her ( I am on commission too) however it is a good cash offer and I know lots of other snowbirds!!
I would think she would be more helpful. Have a great weekend all!

No, you shouldn't have to pay anything to get the docket. You are looking for the case number and it should look somelike 09-CA-00564 and you plug it into the right county site and the whole docket comes up. It would take me 5 minutes to do it for you in Lee County Florida, but I don't have your county's internet sites , etc. handy.

Maybe someone else reading this in your county can pull the docket for you???

Robin,
You are amazing. I went to the Pinellas site and found 4 entries.I have File Date, Book, Page #,
and Instr # . Under Description, it has the ppty address and another #. It looks like I need to register and pay $60. for more detail?
Does that sound right? I have given up on our Realtor. She didnt tell me any of this, I just feel
fortunate to have found you all. :) And if we want this property, I think I am going to have to push for it.

Thank you , Thank you!

Hello again Snowbird,

Hang in there! Robin is correct on how to research the information. Since you are working with a realtor, he/she should be doing the homework for you, first simply by asking the listing agent. The listing agent should know. There is a whole process the seller must go through to qualify and they must first complete the short sale package for lenders.

Meanwhile you wait....keep your eyes on the market...if you pass the 45 day deadline, you may want to rethink your options.

Sincerely,
Pam Cohn
Broker Associate GRI, CDM
Prudential Tropical Realty
727-204-7155
pcohn@prutropical.com

You have to go to the Clerk of Courts website for the county that the property is located in and seach by the owner of the property's name and then check to see if there is a Lis Pendens filed on the property - you need the legal address of the property for that - not the street address. The Lis Pendens will have the docket number of the foreclosure and then take the docket number and seach of the civil case web site for the clerk of courts in the county where the property is located and the offical case docket comes up with all the information from the courts.

I guess it is complicated if you don't do it everyday, but it one of the first things I do for my buyers before they put an offer on a short sale - you have to! For instance, yesterday I looked at a short sale property for an out of state buyer and sent him pictures. He liked it a lot so I then pulled the foreclosure docket for him and found out that the hearing to schedule the foreclosure is actually Friday, September 25th - tomorrow and the foreclosure auction will probably then be at the end of October. My buyer is not considering bidding at the foreclosure auction.

I looked thru the Foreclosures here... didn't see it. Should I be looking elsewhere?
Thanks.

Most short sales are going through the foreclosure process. The bank usually won't even consider a short sale unless you are at least late on your mortgage payments.

Therefore, a foreclosure process probably has been started. The bank that is foreclosing would be listed as the plaintiff on the foreclosure docket. And then any other lenders, any people or companies that have a lien on the property and the owner(s) of the property, etc. will be listed as defendants.

The foreclosure docket is public information and you can usually get it on the internet.

It's a Short Sale, not a Foreclosure. She said it would be several hundred dollars for a Title Search?

The name of the lender(s) as well as anybody else that has a lein or interest in the property is on the foreclosure docket which is public record.

Snowbird,

Your agent can look up the names of the lenders with the loan amounts in the public records, but it is very likely they have been sold to another lender . The easiest way would be for your agent to ask the listing agent who the current lender(s) is holding the note(s) and the amounts.

Sincerely,
Pam Cohn
Broker Associate GRI, CDM
Prudential Tropical Realty
727-204-7155
pcohn@prutropical.com

what's the address? I can look up the basic info, or your agent should be able to tell you...

Thanks for all of your comments, really helpful. We are two months out now on our offer... so
we wait. I need to have my husband check the 45 day addendum, not sure about that. The seller
liked our offer ( so we were told) and it is at the bank ~ but I still dont know the status of the other offer.
I am thinking it is higher but with a financing contingency. I know that could be a problem for them.
Or maybe they are trying to sell their place to buy this one... I need to have our Realtor check the amount
owed status and if there is one mortgage or more. I didnt know that info. was readily available.
A comparable unit just sold in Aug. for about the same price so I dont think we are way off the mark.
I just wish we had some acknowledgement from the Bank that our offer is being considered. We dont
even know that, just word from our Realtor that we are still "in". Can we find out which Bank? I know some are better than others at working thru these deals right now.
Thanks for you comments, sorry you've had such a rough go lately. ~ Snowbird

Snowbird--some good answers here, but also misleading--I beg to differ on the comment that said most short sales don't close--if they don't, it is most likely that:
a. the seller was not qualifed to do a short sale (they are not insolvent);
b. the seller's agent did not know how to handle necessary communications and paperwork;
c. the offer(s) were not valid or sufficient.

You did not mention who is handling the bank negotiations--that is generally not going to be the buyer in any case, unless the buyer has authorization to do so by the seller.

Once the BPO is ordered it should take between 60-90 days for the lender to work the file and submit to the investor for approval--the time period varies from one bank to another, as well as who the investor is (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.)

Good luck--hang in there--if there was more than one offer presented, however, that could definitely slow things down as well--short sales should always be presented with only the "highest and best"--one at a time, with others holding as backups.

Snowbird,

If you have made a cash offer, the financial information is your "proof of funds" from your bank, investment account, 401, etc.. Ask your Realtor to look up the loans on the property. Two reasons. First the Seller's lender is looking to re-coup as much as possible. If your offer is less than 75% of the debt owed the chances of closing decrease. When an offer is made the Sellers Lender orders an appraisal or BPO(Broker Price Opinion) to see if the offer is in line with the market value. Then the lender needs to decide if they lose less by accepting a short sale or by foreclosing. If they decide to go with the short sale they usually take the 45+ days listed in most Florida Short Sale addendums to see if they can get a better offer (Review your addendums for exact verbage). In you case you have already heard there is another offer. In this instance if the offers are close and you verify your funds it is an advantage. If the other offer is higher with at least 25% down (condos are harder to finance right now and some banks won't finance them at all), then they may consider the higher offer. If the seller has two lenders chances are much slimmer that you will close. Depending on how your offer was written and if the seller has signed it-(ratified contract)- you may be bound for at least 45 days. There are some lenders and agents here that do not have the Seller sign until the lender approves. In this case you have nothing more than a verbal. Go back to what your contract says. Ask your realtor questions and make sure they stay on top of the listing agent for updates. Good luck!

Sincerely,
Pam Cohn
Broker Associate GRI, CDM
Prudential Tropical Realty
727-204-7155
pcohn@prutropical.com

Short Sales are very complex and most of them do not close - 76% don't close. You must have a very sharp buyer's agent, otherwise you could wait yourself out of a great buyers' market.

If you have a buyer's agent and if they are any good, then they should have the answer to this question. If you don't have a buyer's agent or if your agent can't or won't give you answers, then I would suggest that you find a great buyer's agent and start looking at other property options so that you are not starting at square one and losing valuable time if this one doesn't work out.

yes. The lender will always order a BPO and sometimes even order another depending on offers. The lender because so many SS....... always wants the best terms in general so cash offer if LOW, does not always get it. Also, with cash they will ask that you supply proof of funds to pay for the purchase.