A Comedy of Errors

I swear one day in the future I'll look back on this whole fiasco trying to close House #2 and laugh, but for now it has added several more gray hairs and increased my blood pressure a good 10 pts, I'm sure. And, it's anything but laughable.

Geez. Where do I begin? So much has happened in the span of 24hrs, I'm sure I'll have things out of order and just plain missing, but here goes ...

* Yesterday morning. Got an email from my agent saying we have to file an extension (she had just talked to the title company beforehand). Docs haven't arrived nor has the wire, which complicates the matter more. As it is, I need to file an extension, which comprises of sending the title company a check for $375 before the EOB Wed (so they can get it Thu).

* I immediately try to contact my broker, loan officer, and underwriter via email and phone (just got VM). My agent informs me she is doing the same.

* Noon and still no word from anyone. I decide to make another round of calls and emails. Finally, about 1pm I get an email from my loan officer saying he is working on seeing how I can get reimbursed the fee. Shortly afterward, my broker emails me too with the same info.

* I get off work and go home. Still nothing. My agent calls me back at around 5pm, telling me she talked to the loan officer and this is the deal ... The lender won't pay for the fee (of course), so that means someone else has to pay. Get this ... the loan officer tells my agent he'll put in a portion, she can put in a portion, and have me put in a portion for the fee.

I went ballistic (in my head).

At almost the same time, she says that I am in no way, shape, or form responsible for this mishap. She exhonerates herself, too, by saying she worked diligently with the underwriter to see things were done right. She was assured by the underwriter that everything would be taken care of. She said that this loan officer should have IMMEDIATELY stepped up to the bat and realized it was his team that dropped the ball and he would pay out of his own pocket for the mishap without hesitation, to which I agreed wholeheartedly.

I was absolutely stunned after the conversation. I even told my agent that when she, I, and the loan officer were at the property during the inspection that she explicitly told him that he would have to get everything to HUD's title company a week before closing. And I distinctly remembered him answering that he would tell his underwriter.

This just has me absolutely fuming that (1) he does not take full responsibility for the screw-up, and, probably moreso, (2) that he expects ME to pay even a penny for the result of the his team's screw-up.

Well, I got into work today and noticed that he sent an email late last night saying basically the same thing he told my agent, that each of us should pay a 1/3 of the fee. He also left a VM on my cell phone when I was in a meeting to which he said that it's only $125 and will be a lot easier to lose than the $1,000 EMD I already have in the deal. WTF?!?!?!?! I immediately sent him a VERY stern email, letting him have it (in a professional way). I told him if he didn't give me written assurance by the EOB today that he would reimburse me before or at closing in full for this fee, I would cancel the deal and seek restitution for monetary damages inflicted as a result of his and/or his team's negligence.

Unfortunately, all this had to happen right when our project is scheduled to announce a major release, so I'm stuck in meetings most of the day this week and have very little lee-way in running errands.

I still haven't heard anything as of now (almost 11am). If I don't hear anything shortly, I'll make another round of emails/calls to everyone.