HELP we need some advise!

[adviseseeker]

Jurisdiction

California

We sold our home on our usual lender's assurance that our credit was good. He pulled our credit report on 1/3/21. We were looking to move from Ca. to Ok. approx. 2200 miles. We found a home, contacted the lender who said that was within what we qualified for. We made an offer, and listed our home. The offer was accepted and our home sold. Our lender was aware of everything. We were scheduled to close on on home 2/26 and the for the OK home. We have texted messages saying that our loan was done. They just needed the appraisal. Our lender knew we left for OK on 2/21 to allow for travel time. We texted while on the road. We were talking about closing documents and how they can send the to the hotel with doc-u-sign. We scheduled the movers (4trucks) to arrive 3/1. We received a call from the lender saying there's a problem on our credit report. 2 months they had the report. We didn't get the house and we're out of pocket thousands. Do we have recourse? Thank you in advance...

 

[army judge]

Do we have recourse?

I suggest you consult a real estate attorney or general business attorney to evaluate the documents you signed.

Once the attorney has evaluated all of your documents, he or she will be able to better advise you about any legal remedies that may exist.

I could bore you with my speculation, but that wouldn't help you.

You are also burning dollars everyday this matter remains unresolved.

I won't offer any prognostications about the outcome, other than to suggest you need to see three or four local attorneys ASAP!!

Internet discussion sites will be of no use to you.

You require the services of a licensed attorney that you retain to assist you.

 

[adjusterjack]

Do we have recourse?

Unfortunately, I don't think so. Though it would certainly be a good idea to talk to an attorney or three.

Did you get anything in writing from that lender person guaranteeing you the loan?

Did you check your own credit reports in the last two months to make sure they were squeaky clean?

 

[Tax Counsel]

Do we have recourse? Thank you in advance...

You'll need to sit down with an attorney who litigates contract cases for advice. Most civil litigation attorneys will give you a free initial consultation so you have only a bit of your time to lose in meeting with at least one, and perhaps a couple, attorneys. I've not seen any of the contracts, documents, correspondence, etc., and all that stuff matters. Understand, though, that lenders tend to be careful not to make any promises until they ready to commit on the loan. Until they actually commit, don't rely on vague assurances about when the loan will be ready to go. If you make plans based on getting a loan before you get the actual firm contractual commitment for the loan you may find at the last minute that the loan isn't there and that you have no recourse for that.

 

[adviseseeker]

Unfortunately, I don't think so. Though it would certainly be a good idea to talk to an attorney or three.

Did you get anything in writing from that lender person guaranteeing you the loan?

Did you check your own credit reports in the last two months to make sure they were squeaky clean?

Yes I have texted messages says that our loan "was done" from both the underwriter and the head guy. We just refied the house 6 months prior with NO issues and with the same company.

 

[adjusterjack]

You've had a whole day to check your credit reports. Have you done that?

 

[Tax Counsel]

Yes I have texted messages says that our loan "was done" from both the underwriter and the head guy.

Unfortunately, that by itself is not a loan commitment. Again, you should take all the documents and correspondence to an attorney for review.

 

[adviseseeker]

Can anyone cite case law on this type of matter?

You've had a whole day to check your credit reports. Have you done that?

Yes and there is nothing there that should not be there. What was on there at the time this took place (2/21) was a mistake and took me about 3 hrs to clear up.

 

[Tax Counsel]

Can anyone cite case law on this type of matter?

Not without first reading the contracts, correspondence, and other evidence you have regarding this. The details of those matter a lot. Just understand that a loan company has no obligation to you to finish processing a loan application in any particular fixed period of time nor does it have any obligation to you to fund the loan until it actually commits to the loan. This is a contract situation, and you have no claim for breach of contract until there is a enforceable contract in place in which the lender has committed to making the loan. When you make commitments based on an assumption you are going to get the loan by a certain date but don't actually have a firm commitment from the lender guaranteeing that you take the risk that when that date rolls around you won't have the money. Whether there is anything in your situation that would support a claim that the lender did actually promise something to you is what a lawyer would be looking for when you take all the relevant documents to him/her for review.

 

[zddoodah]

We sold our home on our usual lender's assurance that our credit was good.

Why do you have a "usual lender"? What would some lender's "assurance" about your credit being good have to do with your decision to sell your home? Given that you can check your own credit, why would you need any lender's assurance about that?

We were scheduled to close on on home 2/26 and the for the OK home.

Huh? Several words appear to be missing from this sentence.

Do we have recourse? Thank you in advance.

Not based on anything you've written. You appear to have jumped the gun on moving and appear not to have done basic research regarding your own credit. Can't hurt to run all of the relevant documents by an attorney.

Can anyone cite case law on this type of matter?

Most of us can cite case law, but none of us are likely to do case research on your behalf.

Please pay careful attention to "Tax Counsel's" statements like this one:

a loan company has no obligation to you to finish processing a loan application in any particular fixed period of time nor does it have any obligation to you to fund the loan until it actually commits to the loan. This is a contract situation, and you have no claim for breach of contract until there is a enforceable contract in place in which the lender has committed to making the loan. When you make commitments based on an assumption you are going to get the loan by a certain date but don't actually have a firm commitment from the lender guaranteeing that you take the risk that when that date rolls around you won't have the money.

The only thing I'd add here is that, even without an enforceable contract, it's possible that you could have a claim based on something called promissory estoppel (google it). The biggest problem with that is that the lender's documents likely have all sorts of disclaimers that could defeat such a claim.