South Coast Metro Home Sold in Mesa North
If you were following our past posts in the
3064 Taylor Way series, then you know we had to put everything on hold after the fourth post because the home had been foreclosed upon by the owner’s bank. It was a really unfortunate occurrence, because we had just gotten the short sale approval letter from the same lender. As it turned out in my estimation, it appears that the lender realized that there were a significant amount of tax liens on the property and the short sale would not be successful. There were more than $50,000 of tax liens on the property, and since a seller cannot make any contributions in a
short sale in most cases, the bank felt that foreclosing would be a better option.
What To Do?
My clients were bitterly disappointed because they had already performed all their inspections and had their loan approved, and they did not really want to start the process over again and find a new home. We were fortunate in that our GateHouse Properties ClientDirect program has connections directly at the bank’s auction, and with a few calls we were able to work out a deal with the new owner/seller who bought the home on Taylor Way directly at the auction from the bank. Whew! It wound up being fortunate that we have had the program in place for several years for my buyers. Just Sold 3064 Taylor Way Costa Mesa
Tax Liens in a Short Sale/Foreclsoure
The takeaway in this situation for anyone thinking about buying a short sale is this: be sure your agent (or you) check on the amount of liens (if any) are on the property. I was aware of it during our short sale, and I had been assured that they were taking care of the liens. Ultimately, the liens are paramount in this kind of situation and must be dealt with first. If the liens cannot be paid in a short sale like this, you are dead in the water.
What is interesting after the foreclosure is that the liens are still attached to the property. The government agency that had the liens placed on the home had a 90 day right to come back after the new homeowner who bought the home at auction to have those liens redeemed. That is why I insisted to my buyers that we wait until the 90 days was up before entering back into contract to buy the home again.
Happy Ending
In the end, my client was able to buy the same home that they were originally in escrow on way back in the early spring of this year. It was elation in the beginning when we beat all of the other bidders, then absolute shock when the bank foreclosed, and now the pendulum has swung back to the happiest moment: closing day for my clients. Congrats Frank and Tisha, that’s a beautiful home for your family!
Taylor Way Series
When I started writing this series, I felt it would be a good primer for any first time Costa Mesa buyer who is looking at buying a home, especially a short sale in Costa Mesa. Check out our other posts in this series: