We are the sellers. Received pre-approval letter from buyers and told they were in underwriting by buyers' agent. Buyers asked for an extension to fax loan committment papers. We extended to 12/21. They asked for another extension to 12/26. We agreed because we were told by buyers' lawyer the paperwork was delayed, no problem with approval. Learned the afternoon of Dec. 26 (after we packed the truck) the buyers were rejected by lender who pre-approved them. Close was supposed to take place Dec. 27. Buyers rejected by four additional lenders the following days. We were told by one lender their credit score was in the low 500s and they would never be approved for a loan. Do we have legal recourse aganst the lender who provided the pre-approval and/or the buyers' agent or lawyer? We lost $5,000 plus and counting for the deal falling through at the last minute. In addition have to rent a home until our house sells (relocated out of state) = two payments. Thanks for your help
Joe C2008-01-12T17:12:38Z
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You should request the earnest monies from the escrow agent as damages and be adamant. However, my fear is that in the end you may be out of luck. A pre-approval is just that. It is not an approval. Many buyers were pre-qualified prior to the lending crisis we now see in the mortgage markets. They were denied because there no longer is a sub prime market for the lender to sell the mortgage to.
If you look at the real estate contract I believe you will see that the deal is contingent on the buyers obtaining a mortgage at a certain percentage rate. Since they were not approved I believe they will get the escrow money back. Ask your real estate agent but I believe I am correct. Sorry for the bad news.
I hate to break it to you but a pre-approval letter is sometimes not worth the paper it's written on. Not only that, if you check the wording on the documents, you will note that it probably said, "subject to a committment," which means it's not finalized until there is a committment. I empathize with you, buy you did jump the gun a bit. The buyers were clearly shopping around for the financing, as they had the right to do. You could speak to an attorney but I don't think you have any recourse since it does not sound as if any legal/written representation was made that the deal was done.
I don't know which state you are in and of course, the laws are different in each. More than likely, you signed a purchase agreement which is contingent on the buyer obtaining a loan. This is the one situation where the buyer is not liable. Buyers have so many outs. You can, on occasion keep the good-faith money, but both parties must agree to this. If they don't agree, you can take them to small claims. Read your contract thoroughly. It will provide much information.
I have to say that the agent representing you in this transaction was remiss in their duties. They should have made the buyers stick to the contingency dates and provided proof of fund, formal loan approval, etc. If I were you, I would be asking the listing agents some questions.
Only a lawyer can tell you if you have any recourse. I suspect that you cannot depend on any promises until the closing actually takes place. Read the pre approval letter carefully and I think you will probably find weasel words in it that protect the writer. The pre approval is not a guarantee. Best of luck, but I think you have to put up with the double payments for a while.
Depends on the contract, the timing, the validity of the contract. If there is fraud involved by the Buyers, the recourse could be extreme. Retain a Real Estate Litigation Attorney. Have them review the contract and the timeline. They are the best resource to remedy this appropriately.