Is it possible to sue the owner for appraisal fee if the short sale falls though because of them?

Question

My boyfriend was trying to buy a house through short sale. It fell through (after we waited 6 weeks) because the owner failed to supply her bank with with proof of financial hardship. Its seems strange that her bank was ready to ok everything, but she never turned it in. And also she lied about it too! Now we want to know if it is possible to get the money he paid for the appraisal fee back, since the deal falling through wasn't his fault. Is this something we could take her to small claims court for?

Answer 1

Forget it.  This is the risk you take when trying to buy on a short sale.  People list these properties without any prior approval from their lenders.

Answer 2

They might have some legal responsibility for the appraisal.  You could win in court.   The short sale is held because the owner swears to his lender that he has no money.  None.  

Your experience is why i will never buy a short sale ever ever ever.

Answer 3

Good Luck - if she doesn't have the money to pay the mortgage she certainly doesnt' have the money to reimburse you.

Answer 4

If you had already signed an offer and you can get documentation from the bank that it was the reason the closing could not take place, then yes youcan.

You are correct, it was not your fault.

Answer 5

possibly

Answer 6

That’s a fee you took on because you chose to try and buy this house.  It’s not the seller’s fault you made that choice.  Who knows what that bank expected as proof of hardship? I don’t know if you’ve ever dealt with that kind of thing before, but lenders can be really picky about what they consider hardship and what constitutes proof of that hardship. You can’t know the seller didn’t try; maybe she just couldn’t satisfy them.

Small claims court isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. After you spend the money to file, it’s usually up to you to collect. Is it worth the effort?

Answer 7

It is hard to say, but I am guessing you would win this in court, but I am not sure it is enough to justify the trouble of going to court.

Answer 8

He can sue her, but whether he is successful is another whole issue.  The burden of proof will be  on him to prove that the seller caused the sale to fail.  If it is hearsay, he is going to have a difficult time.  

Small claims is user friendly, you don't need an attorney, but you still need some proof of what occurred.