Sellers that won't leave (Union, Deal: real estate, apartment, renters)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a HUGE problem and I am not sure what to do.
I am purchasing a condo in Union. The closing was suposed to be June 14. The sellers had asked if we could push it back to the end of June as they had recently had a baby and I said no as I had contractors scheduled for estimates. The sellers then stated they would allow me access to the home on June 15th for my estimates if I would be willing to close June 24.
I agreed as this would still allow me a week to get the work done. Well yesterday I received a call that they cancelled their movers and can not be out of the house until July 2.
As I am currently living in an apartment I have to be out on June 30. Per my attorney, I have no legal recourse as a closing date is just an estimated date and we can not force them to close. It is now going to cost me $477 to keep my contents on the moving truck for 3 days as well as at least $500 for 2 hotels rooms for 3 nights for my room mate and I. I am also being advised that they in no way have to reimburse me for these additional expenses. I am also being advised that there is no guarantee that they will be out July 2.
Don't I have any rights as the buyer? I asked if they would give me my earnest money back and they are refusing to let me out of the contract. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place and do not know what to do next.
Not a lawyer but a friend went though a similar incident years back with a home. although it involved more than a few days, they finally were able to get the seller to partially compensate them for the costs. You might want to try and negotiate a compensation.
However these are questions your legal representation should be answering, not random strangers on the internet.
This was a comment made by a legal site:
Quote:
Closing Date: This is put on at the beginning of a contract and is only a guess at when the closing will take place. The closing date is set by the borrower’s lender and not by the seller or buyer.
i think your attorney is wrong...you can have him send out a letter stating the terms have now changed and the closing is now a "time of essence closing". OR you could have him send out a letter to them (the sellers) that the closing will go forth as the date stated in the contract and that you will rent back to them. then your sellers become renters of the home you closed on and i'm sure they will hurry out once it hurts their pockets.
Time is of the essence gives them an additional 10 days, which puts me past the 30th. We did not find out until yesterday (day before the scheduled closing) that they were not going to close.
Not an attorney, but plenty of real estate experience here.
If you're ready to close, immediately have your attorney serve time of the essence. If it's never served, Seller's default clock never starts ticking! They could drag this out for months.
You're caught between a rock and a hard place and you're forced to make the best of a bad situation. Time of the essence is your next step.
(Not certain, but I think time of the essence is 10 business days, not 10 calendar days. If you serve it today, it ends July 9. Wait till tomorrow and your at July 12.)
The past posters are correct...it sounds as if your lawyer is not doing right by you. Yes, the closing date is something that can fluctuate but 1) The standard NJ Real Estate Contract says "the closing date will take place on OR BEFORE ____" date. My office WILL not (& I had always thought COULD not) change a closing date without BOTH parties agree in writing between the lawyers (& in your situation some added language stating something to the effect that if it doesn't happen within ___days on new date, the contract will be null & void). 2) The lawyer we regularly work with would IMMIDIATELY issue a Kill Deal letter as a past poster mentioned (at least that is what I BELIEVE he would do since I've seen him do it for less offenses than this). Please do yourself a favor & quickly find a new lawyer so they can try & retrieve some monies for you & settle this. How horrible. I'm sorry this is happening to you.
Thanks for the information. Exit - There are people moving into the apartment on 7/15 and the management company needs to paint prior to them moving in, so they said they can not give me an extension.
i think your attorney is wrong...you can have him send out a letter stating the terms have now changed and the closing is now a "time of essence closing". OR you could have him send out a letter to them (the sellers) that the closing will go forth as the date stated in the contract and that you will rent back to them. then your sellers become renters of the home you closed on and i'm sure they will hurry out once it hurts their pockets.
good luck!
That is exactly what we did in both selling our house and buying the new one. We sold our house and rented it at what it cost the buyers per week, for 2 weeks. When we bought our house in Florida, the sellers needed to do the same thing. So we bought the house and the sellers rented from us for 2 weeks.
Everyone was happy.
They might be more motivated to move out if it will cost them more money to rent back.
Good luck!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Time of the Essence is next step
