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I'm the seller of a home in Florida. We have a buyer who is trying to get a FHA loan. We have already extended the closing date 2 times due to his financing issues.(He is self-employed and the FHA people are having him give them IRS paperwork...which he seems to be having trouble providing).
The closing date for this second time has already come and gone. He wants us to extend it again!
We have asked him to put a nonrefundable deposit of 3000 dollars for the next extension. So far, he has refused.
We want to put the home back on the market and just be done with this "buyer". According to our contract, he was suppose to give us a loan commitment 7 days prior to closing. We've never received anything.
My question is, do we need to have him fill out a "mutual release form" to get the home back on the market? OR Is our contract already null and void due to the passing of the closing date?
Please don't tell me to ask an attorney or my realtor(I have my reasons that I don't want to get into). I want input from people who may have came across this sort of thing before.
Thanks
Well, you are asking for legal advice so you are saying you don't want the right answer. I'm not being snarky...that's just the truth. I'll say this...of course, it is best if the buyer signs a document that agrees with you that you are both done and both sides are free of each other, so to speak. It sounds like that is not going to happen, though, and you want to move on. If your agent is saying you must have that signed first and you disagree, my advice is to go to your agent's broker, make it clear that you believe you are out of contract with your buyer, and tell him or her that you want it back on the market right away. Assuming there is a deposit in escrow of some amount, it is most likely that it will need to be returned. Your agent is really your broker's agent. Talk directly with your broker.
I'm the seller of a home in Florida. We have a buyer who is trying to get a FHA loan. We have already extended the closing date 2 times due to his financing issues.(He is self-employed and the FHA people are having him give them IRS paperwork...which he seems to be having trouble providing).
The closing date for this second time has already come and gone. He wants us to extend it again!
We have asked him to put a nonrefundable deposit of 3000 dollars for the next extension. So far, he has refused.
We want to put the home back on the market and just be done with this "buyer". According to our contract, he was suppose to give us a loan commitment 7 days prior to closing. We've never received anything.
My question is, do we need to have him fill out a "mutual release form" to get the home back on the market? OR Is our contract already null and void due to the passing of the closing date?
Please don't tell me to ask an attorney or my realtor(I have my reasons that I don't want to get into). I want input from people who may have came across this sort of thing before.
Thanks
If you don't want to ask your realtor ask another realtor, let them know you are interested in listing with them but tell them your situation and what needs to be done.
If you don't want to ask your realtor ask another realtor, let them know you are interested in listing with them but tell them your situation and what needs to be done.
The odds are that the listing is still under contract with the listing broker. The listing broker would have to be willing to give up that contract before the OP could create another listing contract with another broker.
I think you have some kind of legal recourse if this buyer continually fails to satisfy the terms of the contract in a timely manner. He is preventing you from looking at other offers that could have been made in the time he has you tied to that contract, missed opportunities that can cost you A LOT if he completely fails and bails out later. He sounds like a flake. Your agent needs to be more assertive and take charge of this situation before you lose a LOT on the sale of your house. I think you need everything in writing and those mutual release forms need to be signed by the buyer and you just to cover yourselves. Buyer needs to know that he is costing you money in the form of offers that could have been made while he is stringing you along, which sounds like he is. If he had given you the $3,000 for the second extension that would have been a goodwill effort at least in the form of earnest money, but he couldn't even give you that - doesn't sound really promising. He's at least come up with the initial deposit for the house, hasn't he? I hope you have that, supposed to be a certain percentage of total sale price, but it doesn't come to mind now.
You also sound like you don't trust your realtor. This is turning into a really bad selling experience for you. I hope things work out for you in the long run.
I am not a lawyer and have not read the contract, so I am giving my opinion on what I think it says.
It sounds like the buyer is in "default" of the contract. You should serve him with written notice of same and give him a period (10 business days?) to make good. Or he can pay you what you are asking and modify the contract. Also specify in your letter what will be the consequences if he fails to do what you demand (such as forfeiture of deposit and re-listing of house).
Make sure everything is clearly spelled out with timeframes and next steps. Copy your broker, his broker (not agent), and all attorneys.
This should REALLY be done by your attorney, but you already know that.
Edited to add: You probably should also put the phrase "Time is of the essence." in the demand when you give him the 10 days to comply with the terms of the contract.
Last edited by pruebas; 06-22-2015 at 05:48 AM..
Reason: Additional comment.
I'm the seller of a home in Florida. We have a buyer who is trying to get a FHA loan. We have already extended the closing date 2 times due to his financing issues.
The closing date for this second time has already come and gone. He wants us to extend it again!
We have asked him to put a nonrefundable deposit of 3000 dollars for the next extension. So far, he has refused.
We want to put the home back on the market and just be done with this "buyer". According to our contract, he was suppose to give us a loan commitment 7 days prior to closing. We've never received anything.
My question is, do we need to have him fill out a "mutual release form" to get the home back on the market? OR Is our contract already null and void due to the passing of the closing date?
Please don't tell me to ask an attorney or my realtor(I have my reasons that I don't want to get into). I want input from people who may have came across this sort of thing before.
Thanks
As the closing date has come and gone, the contract is null and void.
Ask your realtor to refund the money the buyer put in escrow. Time to get your home back on the market.
If you are not satisfied with your realtor's performance, time to end that contract as well. Look at the listing contract to see what is required to do this.
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