Terminating a sale contract on a house

[cp102]

We have a 2 story house and bought a chair lift when my husband was paralyzed a few years ago. It was well worth the investment and it works easily. He is now walking but we have kept the chair lift so as we age we still can get up and down stairs. I would not give up on a beautiful home because of the stairs add a chairlift enjoy your home.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by riaelise

I'm definitely open to all options 😊

Are you under the care of an Orthopedic Surgeon? If not, you should get in to see one and explore getting hyaluronic acid injections (Synvisc/Orthovisc/Euflexxa etc.) to your knees. I've seen them be life changing for several people with knee osteoarthritis.

[TexEx2]

Thanks for all the advice! Especially to Falconhead West! The situation has been resolved. The sellers have released us from the contract (though of course we lost $8K in the process...). Which I think more than covers the fact the house was off the market for a month!

Regarding the stairlift: if we were already living in a much loved home we didn't want to leave, that would be a good solution. The problem is moving into a new house realizing that I already have mobility issues which will get worse. If the house hadn't been so beautiful, we wouldn't even have considered it. But we're at an age where we need to get practical and only look at one-story houses or a least ones with the majority of the rooms (and the master bedroom) on the ground floor. Old age, no place for the faint-hearted (and weak of knee).

With regard to other people who might find themselves in our situation where they had gone beyond all the potential 'outs', apparently all the seller can do is sue the buyer to actually purchase the house (no damages allowed, etc.). And pushing the suit through court can take up to 2 years during which time the seller can't try to sell to anyone else and is liable for property taxes and utilities till the case is resolved. With a booming real estate market like Austin, that would really be cutting off the seller's nose to spite his face.

Costly lesson learned for us!

[Trainwreck20]

My mom was selling her house and had a buyer put earnest money down, the 'option' period had passed, and then the buyer backed out for non-physical reasons (essentially 'cold feet'). They then wanted to get their earnest money back (which was about 0.5% only), and when she said 'no', they then tried to deduct various expenses - inspection, survey, and a minor 'repair' they had done (on a house they did not yet own!). It was a huge mess and, for expediency, she mostly relented to get the house back on the market. It essentially took the house off the market for about 45 days for $1,500 or so in earnest money (of which she got a few hundred, I think). They definitely were in the 'defy us and we will make it take forever' mode, even regarding the earnest money.

In any case, I personally can appreciate someone who is up-front enough to state why they are walking away and understand that their earnest money may be forfeit; although, personally, I would likely return some of it if they buyer was courteous in their dealings (as you seem to be from this view).