The "prior owner" should be able to give you the contact information for the new owner, if the home was sold through a short sale. The "prior owner" would have had to sign the offer to purchase and the grant deed, transfering title to the new owner. If they are not willing to give you this information, then I would suspect that something might not be right.

If you would like me to check the status of the property ownership / foreclosure proceeding, please feel free to send me the address. I can look up the information on various tax and foreclosure web-sites and hopefully put an end to your stress and worry. My e-mail is below in the signature block. Of you can click on my profile picture and send me a private note.

Until you have answers, you will continue to spend time stressing about maybes and ifs and possiblys. Once you know what is really going on, you can make the appropriate plans to protect your interests and get on with your life. Contact me and lets get thos answers. Dare to Dream.

Shel-lee Davis, QSC®
Certified Distressed Property Expert – CDPE®
Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource – SFR®
Certified HAFA Specialist – CHS®
SSG Pro®
Your Real Estate Consultant for Life
RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
424-2HELP12 (424-243-5712)
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http://shel-lee.listingbook.com

If the home was sold, it was most likely sold through a realtor. While the owner is the ultimate contact for you, the listing agent may have more details related to the actions of the sale, such as have they already received lender approval (from the seller's lender) for the sale, when transfer of ownership might occur etc.

It seems unusual to me that you were not aware of the sale happening (based on this and your previous questions on Trulia). Had not the realtor asked to show the property at all to potential buyers? A short sale must occur as an arms length transaction so the owner couldn't have just deeded it over to relatives and have it approved by their lender so...they would have had to have your involvement to market the property to outside buyers... Your answers are with the owner, and possibly a realtor for your specific circumstances.

Good luck!

Whats the address of the property? We can look up some info, like if it's a short sale on the market or if the bank took it back in foreclosure--as long as public records are updated in our box of tools.

To determine the stage of foreclosure, you might want to pop over to foreclosureradar.com and see when the auction is scheduled. You can sign up for 30 days free on that website.

It sounds to me like perhaps the owner signed a short sale contract with a new buyer. And perhaps that buyer is an investor. But since the investor / buyer has not contacted you, that short sale is probably not yet approved by the bank. It might get approved, and it might not.

A bank's negotiator will not talk to you because you are not a party to this transaction, even though it probably seems to you that you are, since you're living in the home and all. But you're not. You need to get a straight story from the owner of this home. You might also look out the window to see if there a for sale in the yard. If you spot one, you could call the listing agent to see if you can find out what's happening.

One of the best websites in Sacramento to look up homes for sale is golyon.com. You can go there to see if that home is listed in MLS. If it is an active short sale or an active short contingent, you can find it on golyon.com.

Elizabeth Weintraub
Broker-Associate #00697006
Lyon Real Estate

I'm assuming you're currently renting from the person you titled the "prior owner" in your question. If that is the case, it completely depends if the new owner is an investor that plans to continue renting the home, or if they are planning on moving in and becoming owner occupants.

It sounds like the new owner may be an investor, so if this is the case, they will likely be happy to continue renting to you if the terms of the rental contract (monthly rental cost, length of rental agreement, etc) are agreeable to the both of you. You'll want to make contact with the new owner to see what their plans are, but the new owner should take the first step and contact you.

If you have questions, you can always speak to either of the real estate agents involved in this transaction and ask about the terms of the purchase offer and where you stand as a tenant. She/he should contact you and let you know what to expect with the new owner. I'd recommend speaking to the agent instead of the negotiator of the short sale. The negotiator of the short sale will not provide any information to tenants in this case. Also - keep in mind that you have rights as a tenant and must be given notice if you are to vacate the property.

Keep in mind, it's a great time to buy - you can get in a home with as little as 3.5% down with FHA financing. If you're interested, feel free to give me a call!

You should not have to call the "negotiator", if you mean the lender that approved the short sale. Your only contact would be with the new owners. They will most likely contact you to let you know if they are going to continue with renting to you. If that is the case they will probably need a walk through.

Make sure your deposit with the previous owner has been transferred through or returned to you.

Jamie Sachs
Lyon Real Estate
jamie@golyon.com