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I will keep this somewhat general, but have found it very interesting and thought some on this forum would find it likewise.
My parents are pretty well off. They have a fairly nice paid for home and are both in their late 50's. They have talked and dreamed of finding a larger piece of land slightly outside our town and building their dream home (they've never built before).
About a month ago they found a piece of property just outside town, about 50 acres of land. The house on it is very old, dating to the 40's. It is in the style of an extremely famous American architect...but very dated. Wiring is very outmoded, etc. Owner had passed away, and property belongs to an estate trust.
Place was listed for around $850K (too high for this area and economy, even the seller's realtor admitted this). It was listed for 6 months and my parents were the first to make an offer. They offered $600K (or there abouts). They made clear from the beginning that they intended to rebuild on the property, perhaps preserving some pieces of the original house if possible.
Well, the family did not turn down the offer right away. They strung things out for about three weeks. My parents gave them a couple extensions on their offer. One of the people in the family does business in Canada, so he was away a lot, etc. Finally, yesterday, the family met with them. They basically ended up saying after about a half hour of discussion, "We want someone to buy this place who has a vision of preserving the house." This was never listed in the listing or as a condition of sale. My parents and both realtors were pretty ticked off.
I would think the buying and selling agents could potentially sue them for commission in this instance, but am not sure. I don't think that will happen anways, but was curious what people on this forum thought about this situation. My parents were fairly disappointed because they really like the property (but not the house).
No, but they may have a change of heart once this house sits on the market for a while longer...
That is sort of what my dad is figuring. The family has all these emotions tied up in their family home. I just can't see how they can figure they are going to wait for this "perfect buyer" who is going to preserve their interesting but severely dated house.
As far as the "sue" comment, like I said, I doubt it would happen anyway. It does seem like both realtors did their jobs, though. FWIW, they just dropped the asking price to about $690K, so my parents' offer wasn't far off the mark. The sellers never counter offered anyway.
Depending how honest your folks are they can give (through the agent) the desire to make the house work. Once they've closed on the property they can dispose of the house as desired. I would just make sure no one writes into the contract something that restricts the use or removal of the house.
This happens quite a lot, after the property is sold the previous owner has no way to enforce what is done on the property. You might need a lawyer to guide you through this.
Well, that's the funny thing. They could have lied off the bat and said, "We love the house, we'll probably just do some small remodeling and updating..." But my parents are good honest folks and were up front. I doubt they would or could go back now and say, "We changed our minds..." They've been quite clear that they love the property, but that the house isn't their style.
There is no case for specific performance or commission due unless the buyer has signed and is prepared to close at the listed price or the sellers have accepted a lessor one in writing. Neither of these apply in this case.
Considering the uniqueness of the home it might be worth your parents consulting with an architect regarding the home to produce a truly special property.
Tell them that you would only be able to give them 400, because of the repairs, and it can cost quite a bit more to renovate than build new, but not always.
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