QUESTION
I am the buyer in a residential short sale transaction.
Asked on Oct 08th, 2017 on Real Estate - New York
More details to this question:
My offer was accepted by the buyer and later approved by the "asset company" acting on behalf of the seller's bank. Closing is continually being delayed due to the seller not returning documents to his attorney. Complicating the matter is the fact that the seller is out of state and is now said to be incarcerated in a federal prison. The seller's attorney says that they made contact with the seller who promised to sign and return the documents. I believe that the asset company has made contact as well and were promised the same. For some reason it seems that the seller is unwilling to sign the documents to complete the transaction. The house has been vacant and abandoned for several years. My question is: Can I sue for specific performance and have the court force the sale of the property in accordance with the contract?
1 ANSWER
1 Award
Yes and no. You can sue for specific performance but the issue is enforcement. To finish the short sale, the seller needs to sign stuff. If he is in jail already, enforcing seems hard. Also, money damages against a short seller are not going to matter either. You could spend a lot in legal fees, prevent the sale to someone else, and still get nothing.
Answered on Oct 09th, 2017 at 5:10 AM