Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Sounds like your realitor may want to stay away for the legal advise. You have several questions and I will do my best to address each.

1. If the same bank is the first and second lender, not sure of their concern with how much money the purchaser/buyer is putting as a down payment unless they are financing thru the same bank. Typically in a short sale, the first and second lender states what they are willing to accept that is "short" of the acutal amount owed. This is all they are typically concerned with especially if the buyer is coming to the table with their own financing. Be sure your daughter includes in the agreement that the bank will not pursue them for the difference between the amount owed and the short sale amount. In thus case, they will likely have to claim the difference as income on their taxes but a good tax advisors can typically work that out.

2. If your daughter's name is not on the note or mortgage, then the bank will unlikely put anything on her credit. Think of it this way, they do not have a contract with her and loans on property are required to be in writing per the Statute of Frauds. They will still have to list her in the foreclosure proceeding (if this occurs) as this is her homestead and per the Florida Constitution she has rights to live in the home and she is on the deed; thus, being an actually ower of the home. The other way to look at this is if they did not report to the credit agencies when the payments were being made, they will more than likely not report it on her credit now. If they do, she can dispute it to have it removed. Also note: if your daughter's name was on the deed prior to the mortgage and note being made by the soon to be ex-husband, your daughter would have a valid defense in foreclosure as a owner of a property can only convey as much as they own. Meaning the husband could only mortgage up to 1/2 of the property if her daughter's name was on the deed prior to the loan by the bank. Therefore, the bank is only entitled to half of the property. This does not apply if the loan was made prior to her being on the deed.

3. A person can file bankruptcy at anytime. If filed during or prior to foreclosure proceedings, it puts a person in "active stay" meaning no creditors can contact the debtor without requesting leave of stay from the bankruptcy court. This just makes the foreclosure proceedings take longer. If done after the foreclosure proceedings, it stills wipes any claim and/or judgment clean from your record. This is the short version and I would highly recommend you speak with a bankruptcy attorney for more detail.

4. No such thing as short sale rules, banks make them up as they go. They choose to accept and deny what they feel is in their best interest.