Nowheretolive

Well...All's well ends well! We closed on a property Friday and couldn't be happier. At least we got a home and only lost $1200.00 on that nightmare Wells Fargo bank owned property. The irony of the entire nightmare is that we are one block away aka one street over from that property! Karma? Fate? Who knows!!!!!!!

Now to invest all that money into make the home OUR HOME and not in repairs, half-arse modifications, and poorly installed plumbing, electrical, and termite ridden wood!

Good luck to the next owners when that hunk of junk is back on MLS! AND ANY AGENTS REPRESENTING THIS PROPERTY IN THE FUTURE>>>BUYER BEWARE! - Mon Aug 3 2009, 18:08

I would expect FULL reimbursement of all funds that were put down in the good faith deposit and that the fees would be paid for by escrow, the agent, or most likely the bank. - Tue Jul 28 2009, 16:15

So the drama continues. After 9 business days of signing the cancellation we finally get notification that we are going to get back our good faith deposit. A check was issued on Friday and sent in the mail because the escrow company (I am trying SO SO SO hard to not mention company names but getting really close to it) was too cheap to pay for the wiring fee of a measly $25.00. Now it is Tuesday afternoon and I still have no check. I call escrow and tell them I will pay the measly $25.00 if they can wire the funds today because we need the money to close on a new property before Thursday. I am reassured that the funds will be transferred and that the escrow company will pay for the wire fee. HURRAY!!!! So the funds just came through and it was for a total of $19,800.00. Apparently $200.00 went to fees for the notary. The same notary that we spend a happy evening signing all the paperwork only to find out the sale was canceled the very next day.

Why should I have to pay for a service that gave me nothing but a ream of paperwork with my signature on it? Shouldn't I be given the full amount? Yes I did sign paperwork that stated we would be given back $19,800.00 minus fees which was $200.00 but the total stated $20,000.00. The CARS forms we signed from WFB for cancellation all stated $20,000.00!! Our agent agrees and states that the banks agent or representative should be the one to eat these fees. Opinions?

I have already told the escrow company we are seeking legal counsel for the remaining balance! - Tue Jul 28 2009, 14:43

$20,000 was the good faith deposit, $390 appraisal from Appraisers Pool chosen by the bank, and $495 home inspection. I still need to find out how long it will take to get back our $20K since we are ready to make an offer on another home this week. It seems no one on the bank's side has any timeline as to when we could expect our check. I was told there are no rules or regulations concerning how long it takes to refund this money and the agent representing the bank said that these rules were "being made up as we go along!" I don't understand why WFB's Asset Manager is considered an "untouchable" and no one seems to be able to get in touch with her and it seems strictly "forbidden" for me to even make contact with her! This entire process seems to absolutely ridiculous and these types of perils seem to make the real estate market doomed for buyers! - Tue Jul 14 2009, 07:32

I guess I was looking for statistics from agents on how many times have they seen something like this in today's volatile market. Everyone involved in our transaction including WFB Agent, escrow, and title company find this strange and have never seen this type of activity before. - Mon Jul 13 2009, 11:00

Thank you for your answers. Our agent, the properties agent, and the escrow company were all pushing the WFB Asset Manager to find out why the transaction was halted even though the title search came up clear and free of any holds on the property. We found a les pendens filed a year ago and I used that information to complete a database search of pending lawsuits. That is when I found that the former owner was involved in several lawsuits one pending filed March 30, 2009. If this lawsuit was still pending why would WFB even list the property. I understand they are within their rights to cancel and have accepted that fact. We requested that a cancellation process begin but we still need ALL are monies. We are now very financially strapped and every cent we have needs to be put towards a new purchase which means I definitely need to get back our down payment and fees refunded. We are told by people losing your fees is the price you pay for buying a house and I say that is B.S. because you shouldn't have to pay almost $1000.00 and receive nothing in return. We are seeking legal counsel but I don't want this to become the major issue since we still have no where to move. - Mon Jul 13 2009, 06:35

Be sure to find out your parcel ID number of the property. Permits are filed under that number. You can look that up from the County Accessor's website by knowing the address.

http://assessormap.co.la.ca.us/mapping/viewer.asp - Mon Jul 13 2009, 06:26