Gary White

It definately depends on your status...if you were the owner and served the foreclosure notice the clock started ticking on your time to occupy the property. If you are a tenant you will certainly have some tenant rights but they may have some limitations. The best thing to do is seek some counsel imediately for tenants rights. This can be done through a number of local numbers, but the key is act fast Lakesha so you know your rights. Do not just take a friends advice...get professional advice. If you are renting here is the phone # 616-454-3385 in Grand Rapids for the Rental Property Owners Association and a link to thier website. Hope this helps Lakesha. - Mon Aug 4 2008, 10:29

Hi Melissa, I was reading your issues and I can see why your agent has some questions with regard to if US bank will accept your offer. The fact that getting repairs escrowed along with taxes is very if not impossible. As a HUD authorized broker I find that many people do not understand the "As Is" part of the bid process.
You did the right thing...write an addendum based on the roof. Your agent should be able to help you with these issues, lenders know the lending laws of RSPA but are not trained to understand or deal with the HUD requirements of the purchase agreement. Here is something to remember...you are in a bid process. Anyone that completes a bid that gets accepted will be awarded the home. If you are the only bidder you may get your bid accepted. However, if you put in a bid that does not meet the guidelines you may not even find out that you lost your bid to someone else until it happens.
Look at the repairs as out of pocket expenses. The taxes may be something US Bank will consider since you have to have a clear title for your loan. If they will not, offer your bid with the idea that the loan will cover the repairs and taxes at close. Talk to your lender first, find out if you can get quotes, once your bid is accepted to get the repairs escrowed within your loan. There are some creative ways to get your financing and the bargain home. Hope this helps. - Wed Jun 25 2008, 05:34

Hi Annette, I reviewed the answers and in the Grand Rapids market you have many options. Chris mentioned seeing a mortgage person. Your first step is to assess your buying power based on price. With many homes and types of homes on the market you may have more options than you think. The lender is the first step but you also can get help from a seller with down payment assistance and other money depending on how long it has been since your owned or co-signed on a previous home, if you did before your divorce. The other thing a lender can help you with it is understanding your divorce documents and how them impact your credit. Having once been a single parent for 5 years, I personally went through the same issues you currently face. You can check out my website for some "Free" documents that could answer many of your questions and save you thousands of dollars at the same time. Hope all works out Annette. - Tue Jun 24 2008, 06:01