Selling Home, Replatt Necessary?

[The Dali Lama]

Texas

We have had a contract to sell our house since March 31st, with a closing date of May 14th. Two weeks ago we were informed that the buyer's lender (VA) is telling them that we need to have our property replatted because we have 2 parcels/lots. Our real estate agent was unsure if this is a requirement specific to the VA or would be required by any mortgage lender, and we are concerned because no one has been able to say with certainty if this is the case.

I am generally long winded, and value contributor time, so I am trying to keep this brief... Please let me know if you need further information to answer. Thanks in advance for your advice.

The Dali Lama

 

[justalayman]

what does your contract say to your liabilities? Does it address anything such as this at all?

If not, either by clear statement or referral to some VA requirement, then you are not obligated to do it. If it is not in your contract but somebody is claiming it is required based on something in the contract referring to some requirement, ask those asking for it to provide proof of the requirement.

 

[The Dali Lama]

Thanks for your reply! We are not so concerned that we are obligated to have the replatt done as a requirement for this particular buyer/ lender (although we would like to get it sold, we are considering that it will essentially cut about $2500 from the 15k we are earning from the sale price under the current contract.)

I apologize for not being more clear about the question... We were told initially (well, 2 weeks ago, and three weeks after signing the contract/ agreeing and making improvements as requested by buyer) that it was a requirement of this particular lender. Now our agent and their agent are saying that it will be required from any lender, not just the VA. He
is telling us that a law (newly enacted since we purchased the house in 2005) requires the replatt regardless of who the lender is. However, we are leery of this, as he is basing this on calling a few local mortgage representatives that he "knows." We have contacted some mortgage representatives that we "know," and they are unaware of any laws requiring the replatt.

If the sellers are simply unwilling or unable to go with another lender we are disappointed, but understand and will not retain the earnest money. If it is a requirement of all lenders by law or "across the board" policy in general we might as well go ahead and pay the $2500 to have the replatt done and move forward with the current buyers.

Is there such a law (federal or TX) that requires the replatt for any/all mortgages or is this specific to the VA?

Sorry for being unclear about the nature of our concern. Hopefully this information will clarify. Thanks again for input on this.

The Dali Lama

 

[FarmerJ]

If this is truly required by law then Id say ALL realtors would know it and if they do not then they need to. Justalayman already said it > ask those asking for it to provide proof of the requirement. < Knowing stuff like that goes with the job SO settle for nothing less than a printed out copy of the actual statute / law and its number and when it was created.

 

[justalayman]

to be clear, when you say: replatting, are you stating you must combine the 2 lots into one or is there something else you were referring to?

I cannot say I am familiar with any such law in the federal realm. I would have to do some research to attempt to find it for your state so before I go looking too much, I just want to be clear what they are claiming must be done.

I would require somebody to come up with something very specific before I tossed out the money. Not only do you want it to be proven, making it a buyers obligation would also be a requirement for me.

 

[The Dali Lama]

By the way, we have offered to split the cost of the replatt/associated fees with the buyer, and they are saying that they are strapped for cash. We are working class people too, and get it, but made considerable concessions on sale price... Simply, we don't have a lot of cash laying around either.

The Dali Lama

 

[FlyingRon]

Say what? House location plats for loans don't usually cost more than a few hundred dollars. Even a full up variance plat when I was applying for a variance (which has way more specific things on it) didn't cost as much as $2500. The first thing to do is to dig through the papers you have and see if you already have such a plat done. I've succeeded in convincing lenders that the house hasn't moved since the last plat done in the past. If not, shop around for a different surveyor.

Further, unless you've agreed to cover closing costs, this is certainly technically the buyer's issue, not yours.