Irene

回复  caveman


   
    你知道什么叫“double escrow” 吗？

    你的房地产律师会告诉你,这就是 ...
redrock 发表于 2012-12-7 19:26

请redrock好好念念这篇小短文. 看过后, 还用得着问律师吗? 除非不懂英文. 说实话, 我以前就不知道有“double escrow” , 但看了这篇小短文后, 我就知道了, 就长学问了, 网上什么没有啊.

The Consigliere Files: Double Escrows that Involve Short Sales
By Christopher Moles

Double escrows, or simultaneous property flips, are not illegal. However, it’s clear that double escrows can lead to various dilemmas. This is because a double escrow inherently requires a property to transfer at less than the property’s present value. The same is true for short sales. Short sales cause dilemmas because someone is always taking a hit on the property. The purpose of this writing is to warn of some of the potential pitfalls in trying to pull off a double escrow during a short sale.

The Problem Scenario

Someone submits an offer at less than the property owner’s mortgage. Of course, this requires approval by the bank. During negotiations, the buyer locates a second buyer to purchase the property at a higher price simultaneous with the short sale or in rapid succession. The bank is not aware of the second buyer and the short sale is approved without the bank truly realizing its highest and best return in the transaction.

This scenario can lead to problems for all parties involved. The seller is certifying that he or she is offering the property at the “highest and best return” presently possible. So, when the bank finds out that the property immediately sold for higher than the seller’s price, the bank has a circumstantial claim against the seller for fraud – the favorite cause of action for plaintiffs in real property cases. And you may recall, demonstrating fraud always allows the bank to reinstate deficiency.

The initial buyer can be in hot water as well. This is because some short sale approvals require the buyer to promise to retain the property for a proscribed “retention period.” This is a direct attempt by the banks to eliminate double escrows in short sale transactions.

As I pointed out in a past newsletter, property retention clauses have become so common that the federal government now requires buyer retention periods for any short sale that comes about as part of a federal program. For example, short sales that are part of the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program require the buyer to hold the property for at least 90 days. In essence, the federal government disallows double escrows for any short sale transaction that it helps facilitate.

DRE Red Flags

In recent DRE actions against licensees who have been jeopardized by a double escrow involving a short sale, the DRE alleged that the second buyer was not sufficiently at an “arms-length,” and/or that the second sale was made possible by an obviously inflated appraisal. While these dishonest acts can occur in any transaction, it is now clear that the DRE will search for them by particularly scrutinizing double escrows.

Also, there are foreseeable fiduciary dilemmas that arise anytime an agent tries to double-end a double escrow. These dilemmas may not be curable by full disclosure. For instance, if an agent represents both buyer and seller in the first transaction, and then the same agent represents the new seller in the simultaneous flip at a higher listing price, the agent may be in breach of his or her duties to the first seller. In this case, it might not matter whether the first seller knew that the buyer was going to flip the property and the agent was going to represent the second listing. At the moment that the same agent lists the same home for two different sellers at different prices, the agent could face trouble.

Title Company Concerns

Due to the relative risk involved with double escrows, some title companies are now refusing to close simultaneous transactions. As a result, some instances have been recorded where perpetrators commit a fraudulent “single transaction property flip.” Basically, the first seller sells directly to the last buyer, and the middleman is paid outside of closing. Suffice it to say, these transactions can only be pulled off if the parties commit some sort of fraud on the HUD 1.

Disclose, Disclose, Disclose

Of course, the best way to avoid a problem is to let all parties, especially the short sale bank, know about the pending flip. If disclosure will destroy your chances of getting bank approval, then that should tell you something about the safety of your deal.

Regardless of whether or not the bank approves the deal, parties should take care to learn the contractual obligations of the buyer before proceeding as the buyer may be required to retain the property or otherwise make the property a primary residence.

In closing, double escrows in short sale transactions are technically allowable, but they are difficult to pull off properly and the government openly discourages the practice. Therefore, these transactions are generally not advisable.

Irene

回复 7# BBQ

你又开始撒疫症了, 让我说你什么好. 我喜欢所有的人, 但就不包括你!

Irene

回复  Irene

为 “double escrows”说几句公道话。

    "double escrows" 是完全合法的操作工具，我 ...
沙漠林 发表于 2012-12-7 21:44

我说什么了吗？只是转发了个英文小短文(没找着中文的)，让大家看看, 讨论讨论; 而是你把人想歪了, 把事情搞杂了. 还有, 你我英文都是第二语言, 知道不知道"五十步笑百步"这句话的意思? 为人要低调些为好哟, 要有自知之明. 你我都是在别人屋檐下讨生活, 大家都不容易, 所以我尽量不对自己的同胞说难听的话, 更不搞人身攻击, 这是我在美国做人的原则. 再说, 在网上和素不相识相识的人争强好胜, 有这个必要吗?! 就到此为止，不再回帖.

Irene

[quote]Irene=爱Win。OMG，世上只有你叫Irene吗？
BBQ 发表于 2012-12-7 21:07 [url=http://www.chineseinvegas.com/bbs/redirect.php?goto=findpost&pid=30104&

请问: 你叫Irene吗?
如果你是, 那你不会发帖在骂自己吧? 没病吧?   
如果你不是, 那谁是Irene呢? 我说我叫Irene了吗?

Irene, 你好吗?