Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Buying a Short Sale Home

My wife and I are 1st time buyers. Our offer was accepted causing the purchase of the house to become a short sale. We are looking at our 5th closing date. We waited for over a month for the sellers' bank to approve the short sale. Once we finally received the approval we were informed that the sellers' agent actually submitted the wrong P & S to the bank. The bank has agreed to look at the correct P & S, but in the mean time the bank submitted a public notice to foreclose on the house in June, while our offer sits on someone else's desk. Can we legally release ourselves from this mess and retrieve our deposit? Can the sellers and/or the sellers agent hold us liable?


Asked on 5/13/08, 7:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Hall Qua, Hall, Harvey & Walsh

Re: Buying a Short Sale Home

The answer to your question depends upon the purchase and sale that you signed; however, given the delays that you have encountered, I think that it is likely that you could be released, but you would want to negotiate such a release through counsel to protect yourselves. The bank may not have accepted the offer within the time period allowed. You should consider how much you are saving before attempting to withdraw.

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Answered on 5/14/08, 10:08 am


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