I signed contract, so can't get out of it. I made a mistake. (contingencies, appraisal)
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Well, out of desperation (long story) I signed a contract to buy a house (I signed this past Friday, 5/12). I then had a panic attack and realized I made a big mistake. Inspection period has passed.
They were still showing the house as of end of last week.
I called the agent (dual agent) and asked to terminate the contract, that I'd made a mistake in that the cost of all the repairs was just more than I had planned on, after running the estimates again. That I was over budget, retired w/o an increasing income...and would they agree to terminate the contract. Even with some damages, maybe.
They refused. Said they'd sue for 10% of the contract price, plus fees and expenses, etc.
I am very distraught. Very. This is my mistake, of course.
My choices are:
Don't go to the closing, and wait to see if they sue me.
Go thru with the sale, then don't do any upgrades or repairs & try to sell the house in a year and not take too big a los.
Go thru with the sale, and try to make the best of it.
I have a call in to a couple of lawyers to see if I can get a consultation today or tomorrow.
I don't see why they're deadset on forcing me to close. I would let a buyer out under these circumstances (but I'm nice). They haven't expended any $ on the house except for a termite inspection.
Are these my only options? Don't rag on me too much, please...I know I screwed up. I'm having a melt down. What was I thinking? The cost...the cost. I was so careful about the costs and estimates, but I screwed up.
I'm really surprised that the time for inspections was so short, not even a week.
As you know, your best bet is to find an attorney. Hopefully the attorney can find an out for you.
Just a thought, but is there an appraisal contingency? Maybe if repairs are as pricey as you seem to think, it won't appraise. Just thinking of other possible contingencies that would allow you to cancel.
There are usually many outs for a buyer, depending on what state you're in. There should be a financing contingency, and HOA doc review contingency, a survey review contingency... Read your contract.
They refused. Said they'd sue for 10% of the contract price, plus fees and expenses, etc.
...
My choices are:
Don't go to the closing, and hire an attorney becausethey will sue me.
Do you have an agent? If so, what do they say? Didn't you have an inspection period and option period? Financing contingency?
Go talk to a real estate atty, and bring your contract with you.
There are usually many outs for a buyer, depending on what state you're in. There should be a financing contingency, and HOA doc review contingency, a survey review contingency... Read your contract.
Agreed. I think you would be able to use the inspection and any repairs on it to get out too. If you and the sellers can't agree of repairs or compensation for the repairs of things that came up on inspection, you should be able to get out of it.
Where is your agent during all of this? You agent should be the one explaining all of this to you.
The inspection period has passed. When I said K was signed last Friday...that was the final signing, with inspection results worked out.
There is no financing contingency. Cash sale. We don't have option periods in this state.
I suppose I can go ahead w/the sale, move in, then sell as soon as I can recoup my money. But it's possible things will work out, and costs not as much as I think.
I've been looking for so long, is how I got myself into this fix. There ARE reasons I made an offer. I like the area (not many houses come up for sale in that area), it's cute, large yard (doggies will love that), open floor plan (I can see the tv and dogs while in the kitchen), fiberoptic internet is available there, nice neighborhood (this is one of the smallest houses in the area, which is a good thing).
So maybe I'm just having a panic attack. I'm alone and I worry about all expenses and decisions, because I don't have a fallback...no spouse to help with money issues or to contribute or to discuss decisions with. I get so worried that I will make a huge financial decision mistake.
If I lived in a state where marijuana was legal, I could get some of that out, and I probably wouldn't worry about a thing!
Thanks for all your responses. I still have calls in to a couple of real estate attorneys, but haven't heard back. Attorneys generally like to have big real estate clients, like companies, I think. This is small potatoes to them.
Go to closing, keep the house for a year (or more). Once you are in the house you might find easier or cheaper ways to accomplish things. Or you might find that some changes are totally unnecessary. In fact, you might find that you love the place more and more and are glad you "bit the bullet" and went through with the purchase. It is perfectly normal to second guess yourself at the end of such a long journey, but don't give in to your emotions.
We posted at the same time--same conclusions!
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