Mrsb,

There is far more that goes into your financial transaction than anyone on the outside will understand. Banks and the world of finance are very complex entities. There are million moving parts and scenarios behind the scenes that none of see from the outside. There are managers with directives and complex financial scenarios that must be taken into account. There are also government dollars and tax incentives at play that would be very difficult for any of us to fully understand. Needless to say what appears on the outside to be something as simple as them losing money may not be as it appears. In the end they might end up with more through goverment reimbursement or by writing off the entire loss than had they sold it to your buyer for $135K.

Keep in mind also that the price at the Sheriff's sale means nothing. What will mean something is the price at which they sell the property once they own it. All is not lost however, you can continue to try and sell the property to another buyer in MN for 6 months (during the redemption period). Keep at it and you might get a short sale through up until the very last day.

Cameron Piper
#1 Trulia agent in MN

The answer is totally unclear to everyone. Both the previous answers are correct and the truth is there is nothing "correct" about this system. Over and over I hear the same story and have had the same experiences in trying to represent sellers of properties. I think answer one is a little harsh since we do not know the individual circumstances that brought about these short sales. Indeed, in several situations I have experienced, the sellers, through unexpected loss of jobs or ill health, coupled with the downturn in home values left them with little recourse. In spite of putting homes on the market, being willing to take a lesser amount for the home themselves, willing to pay off the mortgage whether they came out with any money or not, the lenders were unwilling to work with them and to take reasonable purchase agreements, even when the amount of money in question was enough to pay off the mortgage and arrearage, if any. It is not a good system at the moment, especially coupled with the fact that very few people, even some with what would have been considered appropriate credit, are able to qualify for mortgages. We need to speak to our legislators. After all, much of this could have been prevented, just as the savings and loan difficultied of the late 80's could have been handled differently. It is ironic to think that the lax systems set up by the government led to this situation. We need to understand the part greed played in all of this.

Because they are not as smart as they want to appear.