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So we have come to terms on pricing for a house we are interested in. We had originally asked for a June 9th closing, they requested on or about June 1st meaning to be out by July 1st at the latest.
The seller is now signaling they want to be out around July 7th due to a vacation which would mess with our rental lease. We can extend our rental lease, but with a penalty which we do not want to pay.
Now they are signaling they might want to stay until August 1st.
How do you deal with this? We were somewhat apprenhensive about extending our rental least 1x but now we might have to do it 2x and have a nearly 5 month closing? It seems extremely excessive.
I don't think so if you have a signed contract. If it is not finalized, then yes, you are at their mercy. Either put up with it or walk. The threat of walking might make them see reason but might not just as easily.
If taking possession was time-critical you should have written a contract where "time is of the essence." Now you have to argue about whether July 1 is on or about August 1.
> The threat of walking might make them see reason
Possible, although if your contract was somewhat flexible you are on questionable ground. However they are too.
We were going to contract today, but they brought up the later time which is making the wife want to walk way. Their lawyer balked at any time is of the essence language.
We are worried about a 2 week extension which is apparently legal and normal in NY?
Assuming you wish to proceed... If the sellers want to stay in the house past the closing date (and if you are OK with this), have your attorney put a rider into the contract stipulating that sellers have to pay X per day for each day past closing that they remain in the house. I've seen $150/day in contracts for co-op sales here in NY, but you could make this amount anything you want.
What 2-week extension do you mean? Two more weeks to iron out and sign the contract?
Hmm. This is all much different than how this is handled in my area. A request for extension would be done after a home is under contract, anything prior to that would just be part of the initial negotiations that determine the closing date that works for everyone.
In my area the original purchase agreement refers to closing as "closing to be on or before" once the date is determined if it needs to be changed it requires everyone to agree. There is no "reasonable time" verbiage in our standard forms.
1. Your preferred date.
2. Their date and they pay for the lease extension.
3. You walk away.
This is what I would do too. That is a large inconvenience to you...but, if you REALLY want the house and would regret losing it for the rest of your life, just do what they want.
We were going to contract today, but they brought up the later time which is making the wife want to walk way. Their lawyer balked at any time is of the essence language.
We are worried about a 2 week extension which is apparently legal and normal in NY?
This reminds me of why I love west coast real estate without attorney's involved. Time is always of the essence when you are disrupting people and moving. Everyone does things in a timely manner for the least disruption through the stressful process.
And this is why I always told my clients not to "fall in love" with a home and be prepared to walk at any point in the transaction. Difficult in your situation to negotiate from a position of strength. In our area, closing is a definite and in fact the contract would state "date certain" or "sooner as mutually agreed"...not later. Ask for your earnest money to be refunded since they can't honor the contract and find another home. Not like there aren't a slew of them out there.
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