Sounds like you are in Texas. Are you trying to short sale it or buy it?
Call the lender and explain to them that you have a contract on the house, but you need more time to do title search and ask them you need 7 business days to check the title. This puts the date past the foreclosure day so they would have to delay the foreclosure till next month.
They will play hardball and will not do it, but don’t panic and don’t give them any money. I had one like that with CountryWide and it went down to the last day to find out they stopped the sale.
When I tell the lender I have a contract on the house and this technique gives me some extra time. How soon can I ask for the lender to send me a short sale packet?
The one Lender is owed $179,500, tax lien $18,000.
How much do I offer? Is there a standard percentage?
The house is in good condition and just needs cosmetic work.
You can ask the lender to send you a shortsale package immediately.
In my experience, you should only offer what you can justify. Take (low) comparables to come up with your market value of the home and then subtract (expensive) repairs to come up with your offer.
Also, consider how much you want to make to make this whole process worthwhile.
You need to get the homeowner to sign an Authorization to Release Information so that you can talk directly to the Lender. Then you can have the Lender fax you what they want in the short sale (SS) package. Many lenders require much of the information written earlier, but they might require it in a certain format, or on their particular forms.
I’ve told Lenders that I’m the buyer & therefore am not listing the property, therefore, I do not have a listing agreement. Just saying that for what it’s worth.