Home seller won't be able to close within time given in contract...Need advice?

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by neneloco

Hi,

They have just advised my attorney that they need an additional 3 months to close on top of the 60 days provided by the contract. The house that they are buying, the deal fell through and they are buying another house.

.

I'm not an attorney and none of my comments should in any way be construed as legal advice

Have been following this thread but can't help but put in my own two cents after all, not as a Realtor - just an ordinary homeowner.
I've bought and sold several homes over the years, and an overlap of a few days is pretty much standard. Waiting for another THREE MONTHS is asking a lot, for any number of reasons, including the fact that the buyers are expecting a baby and to have to move with an infant down the road is that much more disruptive--been there, done that.
What I'm wondering about, and I haven't seen any comments to that effect, is why did their deal fall through?? Are they already in contract on the "replacement" house? How do they know they will close in another three months or that THIS deal won't fall through as well?

Then again, maybe they just had their attorney ask for an extension and are prepared to rent elsewhere if it comes to that. We seem to be missing that part of the story so far.

Bottomline, if you walk away, you'll have to start over again, which may or may not be a bad idea, only you (neneloco) can determine that. Either way, you won't be in a new home before the baby is born

If I understand you correctly, it doesn't sound as though you'll get more than your earnest money back. Do you think you should cut your losses? What advice did YOUR attorney give you with regard to the rent back?

Good luck with whatever you decide! And congrats on the upcoming blessed event

[neneloco]

We have exercised "time of essence" and have scheduled closing for 8/3/11, the 60th day allowed by contract.

If the seller is not ready we will walk away and request our money back.

[neneloco]

Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti

I'm not an attorney and none of my comments should in any way be construed as legal advice

Have been following this thread but can't help but put in my own two cents after all, not as a Realtor - just an ordinary homeowner.
I've bought and sold several homes over the years, and an overlap of a few days is pretty much standard. Waiting for another THREE MONTHS is asking a lot, for any number of reasons, including the fact that the buyers are expecting a baby and to have to move with an infant down the road is that much more disruptive--been there, done that.
What I'm wondering about, and I haven't seen any comments to that effect, is why did their deal fall through?? Are they already in contract on the "replacement" house? How do they know they will close in another three months or that THIS deal won't fall through as well?

Then again, maybe they just had their attorney ask for an extension and are prepared to rent elsewhere if it comes to that. We seem to be missing that part of the story so far.

Bottomline, if you walk away, you'll have to start over again, which may or may not be a bad idea, only you (neneloco) can determine that. Either way, you won't be in a new home before the baby is born

If I understand you correctly, it doesn't sound as though you'll get more than your earnest money back. Do you think you should cut your losses? What advice did YOUR attorney give you with regard to the rent back?

Good luck with whatever you decide! And congrats on the upcoming blessed event

according to the realtor, they are just waiting for their current house to be finished building and need one to two months.

according to the seller's attorney they are nowhere near signing a contract on their new house.

the contract also gives them a generous 7 days to move out after closing so they have up to 8/10/11 to move out.

They are not going to rent anywhere else. they want to stay in the house until their new house is ready. We did think about a rent back, but decided against it for all the reasons indicated here.

Maybe us forcing their hand will make them close considering it can take another few months for them to find another buyer especially if they are going to use the money on this sale to fund their new purchase.

[twingles]

Forget it. My sister did a rent-back to her sellers, like I said it's pretty common down here - they too were building a house, and had a baby that had been a micro preemie ...the rent back period ended and they called my sister to stay, their new house STILL wasn't done, they didn't want to move in with the new baby, etc etc. My sister said FORGET IT and told them to get out by end of the rent-back period, which they did. THere are almost always holdups with new construction...my sister was lucky they left.

[neneloco]

My wife and I decided to just give them the 7 days from closing to move out and not grant a rent back or post closing occupancy.

As of right now we are just waiting until 8/3/11 to come to see if they show up or waiting for their attorney to call my attorney and give us back our deposit.