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We signed a contract to buy a house in late May and put a $20k deposit on it with the seller's attorney. There were no contingencies except for us getting a loan. The seller put a goal closing date of end of August into the contract. At the same time, we were selling our condo. In the process, my wife lost her job and so we changed the loan to just in my name but it then became contingent upon us selling the condo first before we could close on the house. The condo sale took a very long time due to buyers/condo association missing paperwork/etc. The sellers of the house we are buying became impatient and started legal action saying if we dont get a closing date soon they are moving forward to keep the deposit of $20k. Well we closed on our condo this week and are ready to close on the house anytime the sellers want but they now are saying they incurred losses and demand to keep $5k of the deposit. We don't want to agree to this and they aren't willing to budge. Our lawyer says they have already filed most paperwork to start legal action to keep the entire deposit if we dont close. He says we will more than likely lose the deposit and incur attorney fees of at least $5k. We have to give an answer today on whether they can keep the $5k of the deposit or we go to fight them.
I understand that the seller can only keep money if (1) buyer backs out (which we are not ding) or (2) buyer defaults (I dont see how we defaulted - would the fact that we were supposed to close in August but are ready only a month later (due to circumstances outside our control) be considered buyer default? Even though our lender put a contingency on our loan that we cant close on house until we sell our condo due to my wife's job loss in this entire process?)
If we choose to fight this, are we really likely to lose in this case? Is our lawyer essentially right?
I understand that they wont be able to sell the house while this is going on right?
Last edited by joker1979; 09-23-2016 at 08:35 AM..
I would listen to your lawyer over an internet board. That said what fees have they incurred in one month? Did your contract say you were to close in August and you didn't? The way you worded it the date was not concrete.
Well, you did not make the offer contingent upon selling your house, and you did agree to close in August and it is now very close to the end of September. You definitely did not perform.
Whether a judge will say you are legally out because you can't get the mortgage is going to be a close race, because you never put it into the contract that getting a mortgage and closing on the purchase were contingent upon your current house selling.
I'm glad I am not the one paying for the lawyers on this one. (hint: you need a lawyer. Expect it to cost you a lot of $)
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
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He has a lawyer. The lawyer already told told him what he needs to do. He is trying to find someone to give him advice he wants to hear instead of taking the advice of his lawyer.
We signed a contract to buy a house in late May and put a $20k deposit on it with the seller's attorney. There were no contingencies except for us getting a loan.
Note yet again... that when a buyer does NOT engage an attorney of their own...
We had a date of August 26th in the contract to close. We would have closed by that date; however, my wife lost her job around that time and as a result our lender would not allow us to close on the house until we sold the condo which we just close don this week. We didnt default on purpose - it was due to wife losing job and as a result lender putting a contingency on our loan. And we are ready to close now.. only 1 month later. It just does not seem fair. Im not sure what costs they incurred in that one month - they have not lived in that house for 2 years and its paid off but I know they were renting it until end of summer. We had to incur many costs and headaches as well (our child could not start school on time and we are renting now to keep her in the school district where the house is while at same time paying for condo mortgage and dues).
Well, you did not make the offer contingent upon selling your house, and you did agree to close in August and it is now very close to the end of September. You definitely did not perform.
Whether a judge will say you are legally out because you can't get the mortgage is going to be a close race, because you never put it into the contract that getting a mortgage and closing on the purchase were contingent upon your current house selling.
I'm glad I am not the one paying for the lawyers on this one. (hint: you need a lawyer. Expect it to cost you a lot of $)
Our contract does state that if we cannot get a mortgage, we do not have to close and can walk away. Since the lender would not allow us to close on house until we close on our condo, wouldnt that excuse us?
We signed a contract to buy a house in late May and put a $20k deposit on it with the seller's attorney. There were no contingencies except for us getting a loan. The seller put a goal closing date of end of August into the contract. At the same time, we were selling our condo. In the process, my wife lost her job and so we changed the loan to just in my name but it then became contingent upon us selling the condo first before we could close on the house. The condo sale took a very long time due to buyers/condo association missing paperwork/etc. The sellers of the house we are buying became impatient and started legal action saying if we dont get a closing date soon they are moving forward to keep the deposit of $20k. Well we closed on our condo this week and are ready to close on the house anytime the sellers want but they now are saying they incurred losses and demand to keep $5k of the deposit. We don't want to agree to this and they aren't willing to budge. Our lawyer says they have already filed most paperwork to start legal action to keep the entire deposit if we dont close. He says we will more than likely lose the deposit and incur attorney fees of at least $5k. We have to give an answer today on whether they can keep the $5k of the deposit or we go to fight them.
I understand that the seller can only keep money if (1) buyer backs out (which we are not ding) or (2) buyer defaults (I dont see how we defaulted - would the fact that we were supposed to close in August but are ready only a month later (due to circumstances outside our control) be considered buyer default? Even though our lender put a contingency on our loan that we cant close on house until we sell our condo due to my wife's job loss in this entire process?)
If we choose to fight this, are we really likely to lose in this case? Is our lawyer essentially right?
I understand that they wont be able to sell the house while this is going on right?
All of your questions require legal advice from an attorney which it appears you have already been given by your attorney.
No one here can give you legal advice and it is against the TOS (term of service) on this site to even
attempt to do so.
If you do not like the advice of your current attorney find another attorney and get a second opinion.
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
3,487 posts, read 3,344,579 times
Reputation: 9913
Quote:
Originally Posted by joker1979
<snip> Our lawyer says they have already filed most paperwork to start legal action to keep the entire deposit if we dont close. He says we will more than likely lose the deposit and incur attorney fees of at least $5k. We have to give an answer today on whether they can keep the $5k of the deposit or we go to fight them.
I understand that the seller can only keep money if (1) buyer backs out (which we are not ding) or (2) buyer defaults (I dont see how we defaulted - would the fact that we were supposed to close in August but are ready only a month later (due to circumstances outside our control) be considered buyer default? Even though our lender put a contingency on our loan that we cant close on house until we sell our condo due to my wife's job loss in this entire process?)
If we choose to fight this, are we really likely to lose in this case? Is our lawyer essentially right?
I understand that they wont be able to sell the house while this is going on right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrRational
Note yet again... that when a buyer does NOT engage an attorney of their own...
He has an attorney. He doesn't like the advice his lawyer is giving him.
What kind of statement is this? "Well we closed on our condo this week and are ready to close on the house anytime the sellers want "
The seller wanted to close on or about what was in the CONTRACT!
They don't just randomly choose a date now. If you agree to the $5K, there is probably going to be an addendum coming with dates. Contract has dates and performance expectation. That's why you are always reminded with "time is of essence".
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