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Real Estate
Reply to "3 days before closing and I want to back out..can I?"
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Contact a real estate Attorney and discuss options. The chance you will get sued is low. The reason being is its not worth it to the seller for the cost of retaining their own council and then going to court in a few months and preparing for the case. If the sellers goal is to sell the house and the house is in a decent location, their real estate agent will likely advise them to just return the EM and move on. The agent knows that the buyer can easily stall at closing or find some issue to prevent closing. Better to not waste everyone's time going to a closing that will likely not happen. In the time it will take the seller to get to court, the probability is high that they will have already sold the to someone else and it won't be worth their time and expense to go through a drawn out court case. [/quote] The only good advice here is to contact a real estate attorney. The rest of it might be good advice if it were several weeks before closing and there were contingencies that weren't satisfied. I think the chances of getting sued are pretty high, particularly if the seller is buying a house and has a closing the same day. Real estate contracts are usually specifically enforceable, unless they specifically provide otherwise (meaning that they can force you to buy the house). [/quote] I see that others have posted after me with similar stories/advice. I based my advice on being in the situation twice - once as the seller and once as they buyer. So that right there should tell you this is not a super rare occurrence. The PP who felt their realtor was weak. I think like all professional jobs that really depend on networking and building a reputation to gain business, that it's not good for an agent to be known as one who worked with their client to sue a seller or buyer. It could potentially impact the agent and their clients down the line so I do understand the realtors position. And yes, not having anyone in your corner is correct. Neither agent - yours or the buyers - would have provided a very robust response in court. In my case, I did consult a real estate attorney he basically advised the same as my agent had, give back the EM and move on because there was a very high probability that my place would sell quickly and he was right. OTOH getting to court would have taken a while and he was pretty sure that in the end there would just be an offer for a deal - basically the buyer would give me the EM plus legal fees and court costs and in which case I would not be any better off than I was at that moment. If we went to court, the attorney obviously couldn't guarantee I would prevail because it would just depend on what the buyer would provide as reasons. It turned out - at least in VA - not to be as hard as I thought to find a contingency that will allow the buyer to back out. I also would have lost time in selling and yes had to pay very hefty legal fees out of pocket. Not returning all the EM itself required some legal documents and attorney time as well as far as I recall but now can't remember the specifics on that. So, yes, it can seem easy to say "SUE THEM!" but it is not always the best or easiest course of action. Again, if the OP really wants out, she/he can consult an attorney and also of course speak to their agent and see what they can do at this point. [/quote] Thanks for the response. I am the PP that felt my realtor was weak. I don't need him to be strong in court, or to even engage in a court battle. What I needed for him to do is be professional and say to the buyer's agent "I'm very sorry your client decided to back out of the contract, no doubt you have already talked to them to find out what their concerns are and you are now convinced that they have changed their minds and will not proceed with the transaction. Accordingly, I will instruct the title company to release the earnest money to the seller per the contract. I hope we can work together on a future deal." That's all. If the buyer comes back with a legitimate reason for backing out, such as financing falling through, then we will give the EM back according to the contract. If they want to play games and engage in financing fraud, that's their choice. [/quote]
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