Good afternoon,

I'm sorry to hear of the situation.

Actually, the rule about buying back a property from the short sale buyer is not a law, but a contractual obligation that the buyer agrees to, and it may be enforced forever into the future as against the buyer. However, the restriction will not apply to a second party who buys from the buyer of the shore sale and then sells back to you---so long as the short sale buyer and you do not collude to use another third party to try and get around the restriction---and even then, it would only be a breach of contract issue for the short sale buyer.

Virtually all short sale contracts also prohibit the seller from renting or leasing back to the seller as well.

You may reply back to me using the Reply to Expert link if you have additional questions; and if you do, I ask that you please keep in mind that I do not know what you may already know or with what you need help, unless you tell me.

Kindly take a moment to rate my service to you based on the understanding of the law I provided. Please understand that I have no control over the how the law impacts your particular situation, and I trust you agree that it would be unfair for me to be punished by a (negative rating) ----the first 2 stars/faces----for having been honest with you about the law.

I wish you the best in 2012,

Doug