For or Not For Sale - That is the Question...
IS THIS HOME FOR SALE OR ISN'T IT?
I have a client that has been biding her time for over 10 months now. She has't really taken up too much of my time as I have her setup on a notifier and occassionally answer a few questions via email or phone about a property.
A home showed up in her list about a week ago and we have had an abnormal amount of contact and questions from this buyer indicating that this property may be something that she will want to move forward on. And sure enough, she is ready to make a trip to Florida (from Pennsylvania) to move on this home.
The Realtor Remarks stated that the home was in probate and if it was there before I totally missed it but now shows up that there are "No Showings Until the End of July." So I called the agents (yes there are two agents on this listing) to find out what is going on with the home. There is also a Lis Pendens.
To make a long story short the couple that owned both died intestate. The home is now heired to the siblings. One of the siblings is no where to be found. I asked why it was on the market at all and was told that "they "THOUGHT" they found the sibling but didn't."
Now, I recently sold a home that had to go through probate although it wasn't intestate. There was a clearly defined will in this case although another sibling attempted to put up a fight to no avail.
But I insisted that we wait until the probate issues were cleared up before placing the home on the market and the seller fully agreed with me. I simply touched base with him on a regular basis and we listed the home and sold it in ten days. A remarkable feat in this market and the condition of the home.
Now, is that property for sale or not?
More importantly I feel that the agents are doing the sellers a great injustice having it on the market during this time since it cannot even be shown - much less get an offer on it.
I truly believe that it being on the market has more to do with the Lis Pendens than it does with anything else in an attempt to make the bank more willing to short sale it since it will have been on the market for a longer period of time without an offer.
I spoke with my real estate attorney to see what can, if anything, could be done to clear the "lost sibling" from the title and he stated that there is a period time that must pass before that can take place. He also strongly suggested not getting my buyer involved in a contract that might get even messier.
I gave the agents the contact for the attorney. I'm not sure at this point if they contacted him or not although they stated that they would.
So, what do you think? Is this home for sale or isn't it? Is this a short sale tactic to appease the lender? Your input is greatly appreciated.