Writ or Writout You? Writ Now? Writ Do We Do?
November 30, 2010 7:06 PM Subscribe
Will a writ of execution against the (dead) owner of a house we're buying screw up the sale?
My husband and I are buying a home, and we have just been informed a few days before our scheduled closing that there may be a write of execution against the owner of the house in an amount that far exceeds both the current value and what we are contracted to pay for the house.
His heirs, who are selling the home, apparently had no idea the writ existed.
I am not 100% sure what this means to us in terms of the deal, and neither our real estate agent nor the mortgage company is being totally forthcoming right now beyond saying, "we are trying to work this out between the lawyers and the bank."
Can any light be shed by savvy Mefites?
My husband and I are buying a home, and we have just been informed a few days before our scheduled closing that there may be a write of execution against the owner of the house in an amount that far exceeds both the current value and what we are contracted to pay for the house.
His heirs, who are selling the home, apparently had no idea the writ existed.
I am not 100% sure what this means to us in terms of the deal, and neither our real estate agent nor the mortgage company is being totally forthcoming right now beyond saying, "we are trying to work this out between the lawyers and the bank."
Can any light be shed by savvy Mefites?
IAAL, IANYL. I am not practicing in Maine, which is where your location says you are.
Are you getting title insurance? A knowledgeable, local lawyer would be good, but if I got this call, in my jurisdiction from my client, my first call would be to the title insurance agent. The real people calling the shots at real estate closing are the title insurance agents. This is their stock in trade. They are professionals at this stuff, they have the details, and when the chips are down, they are the people that everybody turns to. If you are getting a mortgage in my jurisdiction from a commercial lender, you are absolutely going to buying title insurance at closing, because the mortgage lender is going to insist on it to protect their mortgage, and because they're going to make you pay for it.
So I'd find out from the bank who the title agent is, call the title agent, and ask them to tell me exactly what is going on, and if the writ is going to mess with title on the house. If they use terms you don't understand, ask them (politely) to please explain it again, because you didn't understand, since this is what you don't do.
In my jurisdiction, generally, if the title insurance company will "insure over" the writ (i.e., not list it as an exception), then neither the seller nor the buyer cares, since they can turn to the title company if the writ does interfere with closing/title and they will be covered up to the limit of the policy, which is generally either the purchase price or the mortgage, depending on whether it's the buyer or the mortgagee.
Without knowing what kind of writ it is and a whole load of other details (or what jurisdiction you're in, even), neither I nor anybody else on the Tubes can tell you whether the writ will screw with things. Absent a good local real estate lawyer, your title company should be able to.
posted by joyceanmachine at 8:37 PM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
Are you getting title insurance? A knowledgeable, local lawyer would be good, but if I got this call, in my jurisdiction from my client, my first call would be to the title insurance agent. The real people calling the shots at real estate closing are the title insurance agents. This is their stock in trade. They are professionals at this stuff, they have the details, and when the chips are down, they are the people that everybody turns to. If you are getting a mortgage in my jurisdiction from a commercial lender, you are absolutely going to buying title insurance at closing, because the mortgage lender is going to insist on it to protect their mortgage, and because they're going to make you pay for it.
So I'd find out from the bank who the title agent is, call the title agent, and ask them to tell me exactly what is going on, and if the writ is going to mess with title on the house. If they use terms you don't understand, ask them (politely) to please explain it again, because you didn't understand, since this is what you don't do.
In my jurisdiction, generally, if the title insurance company will "insure over" the writ (i.e., not list it as an exception), then neither the seller nor the buyer cares, since they can turn to the title company if the writ does interfere with closing/title and they will be covered up to the limit of the policy, which is generally either the purchase price or the mortgage, depending on whether it's the buyer or the mortgagee.
Without knowing what kind of writ it is and a whole load of other details (or what jurisdiction you're in, even), neither I nor anybody else on the Tubes can tell you whether the writ will screw with things. Absent a good local real estate lawyer, your title company should be able to.
posted by joyceanmachine at 8:37 PM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
+1 joyceanmachine
posted by lockestockbarrel at 10:33 PM on November 30, 2010
posted by lockestockbarrel at 10:33 PM on November 30, 2010
A writ of execution, if still effecitve, means that the person issuing the writ has a lien on the proceeds of the sale. That person stands first in line to collect any money paid by a buyer.
posted by yclipse at 4:32 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by yclipse at 4:32 AM on December 1, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by spacewrench at 8:13 PM on November 30, 2010