Just need to SCREAM about mom's house sale

[disneysteve]

I've posted a few times about my mom selling her home. Quick recap - She put it on the market in June. The first two times it was under contract, the deals fell through because the buyers couldn't get mortgages. The 3rd time, it was an investor buying and he kept delaying closing until we finally told him to forget it. The 4th time seemed like the one. The buyers got approved for the mortgage. Closing was initially scheduled for 3/19 but since all the paperwork went through, they moved it up to today at 9am.

I got a call from my wife about 2:00 that my mom called and said all the paperwork was signed at the closing table and there was no money available. It was supposed to be wired and hadn't been. I called a little later and spoke to the realtor who said there was some computer glitch and the transfer hadn't gone through yet and it could take a few more hours. In the meantime, the home was in limbo. My mother technically didn't own it anymore as she had signed all the papers, but the buyer didn't own it either as they hadn't paid for it. Realtor was waiting to hear from the bank to confirm that the money got wired. Finally, after 3:00, she called and said it was definitely wired but could take a couple of hours to show up in the title company's account so that the check could be issued. I just got another call at 3:30 that it went through and the check was finally ready.

What an ordeal this has been. I know it's been driving my mom crazy because everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong but it appears that the deal is finally done, but the check is not in her hands yet. It should be any minute now.

[pearlieq]

Wow! What a hassle that whole process sounds like.

I'm crossing my fingers that everything gets resolved quickly and smoohtly today and that you can all toast a sucessful sale over dinner tonight.

[Ima saver]

I know how you all are feeling. we finished our house Dec. 15th and they did not want to close til after the new year. We finally closed Jan. 19th. We took the check to the bank and they would not accept it. They checked and there was not enough money in the escrow account.
We went back to the lawyer. He sent someone to make a deposit.
They finally took our check, but put a hold on it for 10 business days. We did not lose interest, but that money did not show up in our account until Jan. 31st.
Let's hope you can all toast at dinner tonight. Iknow we did!!

[tinapbeana]

glad to hear it's finally almost over after all the hassle. onwards and upwards!

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

These sorts of things totally wear me out. There can be a lot of tension and anxiety in making such a sale. And having the house in limbo like that? Oh, my gosh! Hope you Mom is relieved now.

Years ago, my father sold his little house and the buyer showed up at closing with cash. Actual dollar bills. The closing agents did not know how to handle it and had to call in someone with more expertise to "reshuffle" the papers, and do some abracadabra motions to make the sale all legit. Money, or no money....evidently either can bring things to a temporary halt.

[disneysteve]

Mom just called. She has the check and is on her way to the bank to deposit it. Then she can transfer it to her high yield MMA and start earning some interest until we decide what to do with it.

[DayByDay]

Whew......Glad she got it and the ordeal is finally over.

[Hot dog]

Don't just have one toast have two or three or four or.... Just remember selling anything in todays market is worth celebrating
Definitely time to do the happy dance!

[JoyJoy]

This type of sale has to be on the list of ALL TIME STRESSBUSTERS!! I can only visualize the look on your mom's face when she sold her home and had no money or buyer to show for it!

Congratulations to your mom. All's well that ends well.

[Aleta]

What a load that must be off of your shoulders. I know that you'll sleep better tonight. Glad it's over for your Mom and you. It's good that she has a caring and thoughtful family member.

[frugalmomof1]

Glad it eventually worked out for your mom!

The same thing happened to me when I sold my house in 2004. I closed on the old house and new house on the same day. Savings was completely drained for the down payment on the new house. I expected to leave with $30k, but the money was not available!!!!! The realtors/lawyers acted like it was no big deal and it happened all the time. I spent a lot of time on the phone that Friday afternoon and I still didn't get the check until the following Monday.

I am glad that we weren't relying on the profit from the old house to use as a down payment....otherwise we could have been 'homeless' for the weekend, with all of our belongings sitting in rented U-Haul trucks.

[scfr]

Congratulations - What a big relief for you and your mom!