Belt Auction

We are waiting for our HUD home to close. What are our rights when no one will talk to us?

We won our HUD home in an auction on November 24th. It is now almost January and we do not know what is going on. I understand that HUD homes can take up to 60 days, but we have to be out of our apartment on Monday. Someone at the title company told us the 29th as a tentative date to close on the home. Well, it is now the 31st and the title company won't even talk to us. They wouldn't even talk to the realtor. He called and emailed 5 people at the company and only got an email from them saying that they never told us the 29th. I have left a message and emailed the woman in charge of our closing and still no response. We were told that our deal is in scheduling. We are also paying cash for this house so there is no loan to worry about. I think it is totally unprofessional that this company will not return our phone calls or emails. We want answers and are ready to actually go downtown and pay them a visit in person so they have to talk to us. Do we have any rights in this situation? We are totally understanding of the fact that this takes longer being a HUD home and that it's the holidays, but I think we should at least have an explanation of how much longer it may take. We absolutely have to be out of our apartment on Monday! Edit: we did not terminate our lease on the assumption that we would have our house. Our lease happened to be ending on January 1st, and we had to sign something 60 days before that saying we wanted to leave. At that time we had another house already purchased which burned down a week after we bought it. Our apartment management is allowing us to stay until the 5th, but then someone else is moving in and we need to be out. The circumstances of our living situation were out of our control.

Public Comments

1. Sorry to hear about the snafu. Which is probably an apt description of what is going on. Some title companies that do a lot of closings of foreclosed properties have a lot on their plate and get behind. Sometimes it's the title company problem, sometimes it's that the owner of the foreclosed property (HUD in this case) is swamped or otherwise doesn't do a good job of taking care of business. You might be able to close on Friday (Jan 2) or it will have to wait until Monday (Jan.5) or after. I don't know of title companies that work on holidays or weekends. Also, some posters here have noted that in their area, the buyer does not get possession of the property until the deed is recorded. Where I do business, the buyer gets the property once the money is paid to the seller. But you should verify with your agent about what is typical for your area. If you are not able to stay in your apartment a few days longer, I suggest you consider putting your personal possessions in a moveable storage container and figure it will be after Jan. 3rd when you can move into your new home. Stay at a residence hotel for a few days. Even if it is a private purchase, it is not unusual for closings to be delayed. It is nerve racking, but it happens. Not a good idea to *have* to move on the day of closing. You certainly deserve a clear answer, if there is one. You may feel better if you go to the title company in person to get a response. But, I don't think it will change anything. Good luck.
2. You have the right to wait. Anything involving a government agency moves at the speed of government - slow. The title company should have some sort of information for you, it is incredibly unprofessional of them to not return your contacts. I would call your landlord and see if there is some sort of extension available to you. If you don't close today, you aren't closing until next week.
3. Your first and GREATEST error was in terminating your tenancy on the assumption that you would close by a specific date. That's not the way it works, especially with a HUD (or any other) foreclosure. There are NO guarantees of closing dates. I can only suggest that you inquire of your landlord relative to extension of your occupancy until closing actually occurs. Learn another lesson. sadlyl