Expert: Dick Dennis - 8/15/2006

Question
I really don't know what to do. I put a contract down on a house that was listed without any short sale or other down sides, and I closed on my end and the seller didn't close. It turned out he was in bankruptcy and foreclosure. He claimed he needed time to file a motion of sale in the bankruptcy court, but the house got sold on foreclosure auction without my knowledge after waiting 2 months in a binding contract for a house that wasn't even coldwell bankers to sell. Now the guy who bought the house on auction won't deal with my contract, and I am just left with 3 months of wasted time and no house and incurred costs of inspection and fees. What went wrong? Shouldn't there have been disclosures to cover this? I wouldn't have stayed in an invalid contract if I knew the house wouldn't be mine.

Answer
It sounds like you did not have a knowledgeable Realtor representing your interests, or a REAL ESTATE attorney. Either one of them would have found out that there was a bankruptcy in the picture. An attorney would have held up the sale to the other party for sure.

Once the bankruptcy takes effect on the property, any and all transactions, leases, sales, etc., are no longer valid. Obviously, Coldwell Banker was waiting in the wings with their buyer to purchase that property.

If you want to make sure you have some chance of recovering that property, I would recommend you consult with a REAL ESTATE attorney and ask how your interest may be saved.

I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis               dixiedee13@aol.com