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Old 09-18-2011, 10:51 AM
 
5 posts, read 5,027 times
Reputation: 10

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Short backstory: My wife and I just put an offer in on a house that was a little out of our price range, but not unreasonable on both of our salaries. Of course, our offer was accepted and we have yet to do the inspection or any additional activity because of the weekend.

Here's where the scenario gets a little weird. As of right now, we have not put down any deposit or "earnest money." I would imagine we are going to be doing that tomorrow or Tuesday. We have an appt. to speak with our tax adviser tomorrow night and will be exploring the benefits of the mortgage interest deduction utilizing an immediate method of changing our deductions now or itemizing at the end of the 2012 tax year to receive a large refund. (I hope that isn't too confusing). Anyways, basically we are looking to the tax benefits to aid in the mortgage one way or another, either immediately or yearly.

Now, if our tax person comes back and says "you're screwed," for lack of a better phrase, do we have the ability to back out of the offer with no penalty, especially since no money has exchanged hands yet? And, even if we had already put in the earnest deposit, we should have a "grace period" in CA to pull out regardless correct? Our realtor explained the ability to back out as simple as "we might have a stomach ache that day and we just don't feel like buying the house now," kind of scenario. Basically he indicated that we should have no penalty (especially since no money has been exchanged yet) whatsoever.

Our biggest concern is that my wife eventually would like to get pregnant which may or may not put a strain on us if she cuts back on work. Obviously that would severely affect our income. All in all, clearly we have a few things to think about and it probably wasn't a super-great idea to make the offer that we did...but I will say its a great house at a great price!

Thanks in advance for any help/guidance
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Old 09-18-2011, 01:13 PM
 
1,319 posts, read 4,228,485 times
Reputation: 1152
There is no grace period.
Your offer should have had a contingency for getting a loan and an approved inspection. You can easily back out based on those.
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Old 09-18-2011, 03:55 PM
 
Location: Katy, TX
11 posts, read 30,421 times
Reputation: 12
You can easily back out at this time. I would definitely be sick if it was me and I was the realtor. You can either rent or purchase and purchase is the best way to go. Maybe you should just lower your price range a little and get a cheaper house or a townhouse/condo.
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Old 09-19-2011, 11:40 AM
 
Location: South Bay
7,226 posts, read 22,122,212 times
Reputation: 3626
Quote:
Originally Posted by BennyPhoenix View Post
There is no grace period.
Your offer should have had a contingency for getting a loan and an approved inspection. You can easily back out based on those.
i bought a house recently and the above is absolutely correct.
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Old 09-20-2011, 03:10 PM
 
Location: LA
304 posts, read 928,733 times
Reputation: 98
Quote:
Originally Posted by BennyPhoenix View Post
There is no grace period.
Your offer should have had a contingency for getting a loan and an approved inspection. You can easily back out based on those.
1) You should always buy a home with a buyer's agent.

2) The California Purchase and Sale Contract has built in a 17 day time period for you to inspect the property and walk away if you are scared to go forward. That time period can be written in shorter or longer if the sellers will agree.

3) It also has a built in time period for getting a loan hat needs to be agreed to.

Time is of the essence. But it is all very doable. The CA contract is pro-buyer.
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Old 09-20-2011, 03:12 PM
 
Location: LA
304 posts, read 928,733 times
Reputation: 98
Quote:
Originally Posted by eodsocal View Post
Short backstory: My wife and I just put an offer in on a house that was a little out of our price range, but not unreasonable on both of our salaries. Of course, our offer was accepted and we have yet to do the inspection or any additional activity because of the weekend.

Here's where the scenario gets a little weird. As of right now, we have not put down any deposit or "earnest money." I would imagine we are going to be doing that tomorrow or Tuesday. We have an appt. to speak with our tax adviser tomorrow night and will be exploring the benefits of the mortgage interest deduction utilizing an immediate method of changing our deductions now or itemizing at the end of the 2012 tax year to receive a large refund. (I hope that isn't too confusing). Anyways, basically we are looking to the tax benefits to aid in the mortgage one way or another, either immediately or yearly.

Now, if our tax person comes back and says "you're screwed," for lack of a better phrase, do we have the ability to back out of the offer with no penalty, especially since no money has exchanged hands yet? And, even if we had already put in the earnest deposit, we should have a "grace period" in CA to pull out regardless correct? Our realtor explained the ability to back out as simple as "we might have a stomach ache that day and we just don't feel like buying the house now," kind of scenario. Basically he indicated that we should have no penalty (especially since no money has been exchanged yet) whatsoever.

Our biggest concern is that my wife eventually would like to get pregnant which may or may not put a strain on us if she cuts back on work. Obviously that would severely affect our income. All in all, clearly we have a few things to think about and it probably wasn't a super-great idea to make the offer that we did...but I will say its a great house at a great price!

Thanks in advance for any help/guidance
----------------
1) You should always buy a home with a buyer's agent who's job is to look out for you.

2) The California Purchase and Sale Contract has built in a 17 day time period for you to inspect the property and walk away if you are scared to go forward. That time period can be written in shorter or longer if the sellers will agree.

3) It also has a built in time period for getting a loan hat needs to be agreed to.

Time is of the essence. But it is all very doable. The CA contract is pro-buyer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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