3 days before closing and I want to back out..can I?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friends live in a really great neighborhood in an expensive zip code, and earlier this year, they had a rash of car break-ins. The culprit was eventually caught. Face it, even nice neighborhoods can present opportunities for crime. Stick with your decision, lock your doors and don't keep stuff in your car that thieves could see. (i.e. your purse.)

Yes believe it or not this stuff happens in Potomac, Mclean, Bethesda, NW DC etc...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm PP and work with realtors. There isn't some client shit list that will blackball you from the market. No one likes losing a sale but if they're a good realtor they will find you another home. I'm so annoyed by all the fear mongers on this thread who clearly have zero professional experience in purchase transactions.

If OP is looking in a specific target area it is possible it could be the same group or listing agent she backed out of the deal with and you know they aren't going to go through the possibility of that again.

Well, if the neighborhood is the problem for OP, she won't be looking there again.

That said, I agree with the posters who say she is overreacting. Lots of nice, perfectly safe neighborhoods get occasional rashes of burglaries and car break-ins. I'm a pretty anxious person and that wouldn't deter me if it's not a regular thing.

[Anonymous]

You don't back out 3 days before closing when all contingencies have been satisfied -- just no. Are you this indecisive and wishy washy in other aspects of your life too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your lender works for you, not the seller.
Pull your loan. Tell your realtor you found out new information about the area. People are just freaking you out to be dramatic. Realtors know how to manage these types of scenarios.

Not sure what "pull your loan" means, but if a loan has been approved -- and likely has been 3 days before settlement -- the buyer does not have an out on financing. Telling the realtor that they found new information about the area will only make them look stupid in court, because the first thing the judge will ask is why they didn't do due diligence about the area before submitting an offer and monitor the area during periods where they could have legally voided the contract.

Even if a real estate agent is a lawyer by training, they cannot provide legal advice to a client. The first thing a realtor does to "manage these types of scenarios" (which are very rare) is to advise the client to contact a lawyer who actually knows how to "manage these types of scenarios." In my very long career with nearly a thousand transactions, only one buyer pulled out of the contract at the last minute. The seller took her $10,000 deposit; successfully sued her for $50,000 in damages, and she paid nearly $30,000 in legal fees for herself and the seller's lawyer. This was in 1995.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Even if a real estate agent is a lawyer by training, they cannot provide legal advice to a client. The first thing a realtor does to "manage these types of scenarios" (which are very rare) is to advise the client to contact a lawyer who actually knows how to "manage these types of scenarios." In my very long career with nearly a thousand transactions, only one buyer pulled out of the contract at the last minute. The seller took her $10,000 deposit; successfully sued her for $50,000 in damages, and she paid nearly $30,000 in legal fees for herself and the seller's lawyer. This was in 1995.

Wow. That was a lot of money in 1995. You could have a comfortable house in Chevy Chase village for 600k in those days.

Why did the buyer back out?

[Anonymous]

First off, it is normal to have cold feet. What isn't normal is to pull out at the last minute. If you do, expect to lose your EMD and to possibly be sued for damages. I don't believe that they can force you to buy the house, but the damages could be substantial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rash of break ins and vandalism can happen anywhere. Even the nicest/safest neighborhoods. What else is making you uneasy? Cold feet is normal. But you will find something wrong with every house and neighborhood-that is just how it goes. Nothing is ever 100% perfect.

This. Backing out based on this is pretty ridiculous.

+1. I think you just have cold feet, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First off, it is normal to have cold feet. What isn't normal is to pull out at the last minute. If you do, expect to lose your EMD and to possibly be sued for damages. I don't believe that they can force you to buy the house, but the damages could be substantial.

Seriously. I think there is an extremely high change you are going to be sued. You can sell the house in 5 years. You would honestly lose less money doing that more than likely.

[Anonymous]

I don't have any advice for the OP but I find it odd that so many people are saying OP will lose the EMD and get sued when on other threads people consistently say that it is very rare to get to keep the EMD if a buyer walks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any advice for the OP but I find it odd that so many people are saying OP will lose the EMD and get sued when on other threads people consistently say that it is very rare to get to keep the EMD if a buyer walks.

If it is for financing or an inspection contingency that were not done or if the seller did something like change the applicances or something it is totally different. In this particular case the buyer has changed their mind. The seller gets to keep that money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any advice for the OP but I find it odd that so many people are saying OP will lose the EMD and get sued when on other threads people consistently say that it is very rare to get to keep the EMD if a buyer walks.

If it is for financing or an inspection contingency that were not done or if the seller did something like change the applicances or something it is totally different. In this particular case the buyer has changed their mind. The seller gets to keep that money.

Sure, because in those situations buyer wouldn't be breaching the contract so it would be stupid for the seller to try to keep the earnest money. While I agree with you that the contract is set up so that the seller is supposed to be entitled to that money there are a bunch of threads that say the seller rarely gets to keep the money even if the buyer breaches the contract. For example, one of the reasons that was mentioned was that to sell the house to someone else, the seller has to secure a release of the contract with the first buyer and that's difficult to do without releasing the earnest money. Basically that it is such a PITA to sue the buyer that most sellers will just let it go and move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any advice for the OP but I find it odd that so many people are saying OP will lose the EMD and get sued when on other threads people consistently say that it is very rare to get to keep the EMD if a buyer walks.

If it is for financing or an inspection contingency that were not done or if the seller did something like change the applicances or something it is totally different. In this particular case the buyer has changed their mind. The seller gets to keep that money.

Sure, because in those situations buyer wouldn't be breaching the contract so it would be stupid for the seller to try to keep the earnest money. While I agree with you that the contract is set up so that the seller is supposed to be entitled to that money there are a bunch of threads that say the seller rarely gets to keep the money even if the buyer breaches the contract. For example, one of the reasons that was mentioned was that to sell the house to someone else, the seller has to secure a release of the contract with the first buyer and that's difficult to do without releasing the earnest money. Basically that it is such a PITA to sue the buyer that most sellers will just let it go and move on.

The seller has an airtight contract with all contingencies satisfied. OP would lose all of the money.

[Anonymous]

I'd get revenge (monetarily) somehow if you did that to me. Be careful who you screw over. You sound like a horrible, self centered person.

[Anonymous]

Also if your seller is a lawyer-You are f*kd. And its the DC area-its possible. Remember if they are a lawyer they don't have to pay for one-it makes a difference in their likelihood to sue you.

[Anonymous]

I think we have a buyer trying to pull this crap with us now- all contingencies removed weeks ago. I don't know if they are idiots or have cold feet but we are lawyers with no one to pay but ourselves! We will spread the word in our communities if this does occur- and god help them and their next seller.