Hello Everyone! Thank you for reading our story. I never thought purchasing a short sale/foreclosure home would be so incredibly difficult and stressful. My circumstance may be unique, but my story is 100% true!

In 2010 I lost my job due to the economic conditions in Arizona. As the primary breadwinner, I was forced to short sell my home. 4 years later, I have a stable job in Oregon and I'm ready to once again own a home, so I made an offer on a short sale home in July 2014. My offer was accepted by the first mortgage bank and I was told that the second mortgage bank would also accept my offer based on the past offer that was for a lesser amount. 

My offer was accepted in August of 2014 and I moved forward with the purchase. Months went by without a word and in September I was informed that the bank would like to increase the listing amount. I raised my offer, it was accepted and I was told that the closing date would be 10/30/14, so I gave notice to my landlord that I planned to break my lease. The landlord listed the home and a new tenant was in place to move into the home in November.

The second mortgage bank did not show up on 10/30 for the closing so it was moved to November 20th. Again, the second mortgage bank did not show up due to an expiration date given by the bank that specified when the closing had to be completed in order for the agreement to be valid. That date was August 18th 2014 and was not devulged by the listing agent until November.

The result was that I had no place to live and the home was moved to foreclosure status. I worked out a rental contract with the owner until the home was closed. The home was considered a foreclosure and a 6-month redemption period began in January 2015. I continued to pay rent and awaited the end of foreclosure in June so I could make an offer. During this period, I made improvements to the home that hadn't been occupied for the past 4 years at my own expense. Fannie Mae offered me cash for keys to move out, but I elected to stay because I had thousands of non-reimbursed expenses that would be lost if I were to move out. The rent amount was doubled by Fannie Mae, but I had no choice but to accept or move out.

I signed the rental agreement in July, but months went by before it was finally activated on October 10th due to non-communication from the property management company. I was told that I owed rent back to July and that totaled $8100. I had no choice but to pay the back rent from my savings that was to be used for closing costs. 10 days after the lease activation, Fannie Mae triggered the appraisal and the listing. This could have been done much earlier if the property management company had reacted sooner.

The property was listed on 11/23/15 and my offer was accepted by Fannie Mae on 12/2 for $25,000 more than had been accepted as a short sale. In effect, I am $7000 short for my down payment/closing costs. My options are borrowing from my sister and increasing my financing rate to receive a credit that can be used for closing. I'm asking for any additional funds that will help and possibly prevent me from incurring a higher finance rate that will increase my payment. The home has not been lived in prior to me for the past 4 years so there are some maintenance issues. This experience has been very stressful to my family. We are a one income family with tow dependants. There are many other families like mine that are trying to own a home and the short sale/foreclosure process is broken in my opinion.

I have never done this kind of thing, but I can see how with just a little help many, it is possible to help a few. I'm greatful for anything and I'll be helping others on this site in the future.

Best,

Michael & Sherry