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Our house is sold (read the first posting, "Do we have recourse on a botched listing?") and heading to closing on June 29th. We want to move to a specific area but homes are very seldom for sale so it has been difficult to get what we want. We have looked at several but there have been issues that we did not want to tackle at our age (76/70). For instance, one home (beautiful on the outside) was a mess inside. It was empty, but filthy. The clincher was...the owners had installed a huge sauna in one of the bedrooms with no vents and the ceiling and walls were peeling!! All I could think of was...MOLD!!
Anyway, after looking at, and rejecting, at least 8 homes for various reasons, we "settled" on a house that the owners were asking WAY too much for and did not want to budge. They bought it in '08 for way too much money and are trying to recoup some of it. They want to move to SC (we're in AZ) and have had this house for sale for over 2 years. Since our choices were low and we needed to find a home to get things going, we put Earnest money down and made them an offer, which they accepted. The house is 18 years old, on a golf course, and 1500 sq. ft. (MUCH smaller than the house we're selling). They accepted our offer and the inspection was done on May 25th.
The inspection revealed several items that need to be fixed, including the roof, which we were concerned about. Most houses here in AZ have tile roofs but this one is composite and has been patched (by a non-professional) with shingles missing and a tree out front with branches rubbing on the roof. The tree also sits on top of the septic...YIKES! There is no flashing so there's no air-flow in the attic. The inspector took pictures and there's a bucket sitting up in the attic but he couldn't get closer because part of the attic is blocked off.
There's just a whole bunch of red flags that concern us and there's other smaller fixes that need attention (like the electrical panel and plastic piping on the hot water tank!). We'd like to back out but don't we have to see what the seller offers in the way of repairs?
The sellers were there for the inspection which was not a good thing because we were not able to talk to the inspector.
How are we able to cancel this contract without losing our Earnest money?
Perhaps an agent that works in AZ and knows the contracts used there will respond. It all depends on what your contract says though. Some contracts require you give the sellers an opportunity to make repairs; some don't.
What does your contract say about inspections and responses?
I don't know where in AZ you are, but we have a house in AZ and there are lots of houses on the market all over the state. This sounds like a house you need to walk away from. Even if you lose your earnest money. If you really believe the house is way overpriced, an appraisal is in order. One thing I did learn about Arizona real estate is that the law is heavily in favor of the buyer.
We backed out of a sale in the Phoenix area because of the number of items the inspection uncovered. It was a straightforward process and our realtor walked us through it. You have to get in there and get it going within the time limit stated on your contract, however, so drag the contract out right now and start looking. Then immediately put in a call to your realtor to start the process.
Just like others have said...it depends on what your contract says. I'm assuming you signed a standard Arizona real estate contract. Here is what a standard Arizona contract says, but you need to READ what you signed...it may be different...
EARNEST MONEY- Be aware that your earnest money may be in jeopardy if you do not follow the time frames and requirements of the contract. When you enter into an escrow, you give the Title Company the sole discretion in settling disputes regarding earnest money. Be prepared to lose it if you are not in compliance with the contracts terms and conditions
It is for Sedona, but in the right side of the page there is a sample of a Arizona contract. If you look through it, there is a clause in there where you can back out during your inspection period. Its located at 6a on that particular contract.
Look at YOUR contract and see what it says. Its probably very similar to this one because most Arizona realtors use this form of contract with some variations.
Another thing, your realtor should have given you a copy of the "buyer's advisory" when you signed the contract. If they didn't, here is a link to it... https://www.aaronline.com/manage-risk/buyer-advisory-3/
A pop up will come up, but just click on the continue as a guest tab. Then click and download the pdf form.
Again, read YOUR contract...if your contract has an inspection period and you're within that time frame then you can back out for whatever reason. That is why they give an inspection period.
Does your contract state you need to present repairs and allow them to say no? If they agree to all your repairs, why wouldn't you want to move forward? Those are repairs you wouldn't have to do.
The Texas contract allows the buyer to terminate for any reason, if they purchased the right to terminate. Buyers don't have to ask for repairs or give a seller the option to correct. They can wake up on the wrong side of the bed and decide to terminate.
Read your contract and see what it says for your right to terminate. If your inspection was already 3 days ago, you're probably coming up to the end of any termination period.
Buyer Disapproval: If Buyer, in Buyer's sole discretion, disapproves of items as allowed herein, Buyer shall deliver to Seller a signed notice of the items disapproved and state in the notice that Buyer elects to either:
(1) Immediately cancel this Contract, in which case:
(a) If Buyer's notice specifies disapproval of items as allowed herein, the Earnest money shall be released to Buyer.
(b) If Buyer's notice fails to specify items disapproved as allowed herein, the cancellation will remain in effect but Buyer has failed to comply with a provision of this Contract and Seller may deliver to Buyer a cure notice as required by Section 7a. If Buyer fails to cure their non-compliance within 3 days after delivery of such notice, Buyer shall be in breach and Seller shall be entitled to the Earnest money. If, prior to expiration of the Cure period, Buyer delivers notice specifying items disapproved as allowed herein, Buyer shall be entitled to a return of the Earnest money.
OR:
(2) Provide Seller an opportunity to correct the items disapproved, in which case:
(a) Seller shall respond in writing within 5 days after delivery to Seller of Buyer's notice of items disapproved. Seller's failure to respond to Buyer in writing within the specified time period shall conclusively be deemed Seller's refusal to correct any of the items disapproved.
(b) If Seller agrees in writing to correct items disapproved, Seller shall correct the items, complete any repairs in a workmanlike manner and deliver any paid receipts evidencing the corrections and repairs to Buyer 3 days prior to COE date.
(c) If Seller is unwilling or unable to correct any of the items disapproved, Buyer may cancel this Contract within 5 days after delivery of Seller's response or after expiration of the time for Seller's response, whichever comes first, and the Earnest money shall be released to Buyer. If Buyer does not cancel this Contract within the 5 days as provided, Buyer shall close escrow without correction of those items that Seller has not agreed in writing to correct.
That's the contract, word for word.
We have submitted the disapproved items to the agent on May 26th and she was having her "maintenance man" look at our list and look at them at the house.
I'm assuming by the contract, we have to let the Seller decide what they are going to do and that they have 5 days from the 26th, which would be Tues., May 30th, to let us know. Is this correct?
We would like to just cancel this now but I think we have to give them that 5 days, right?
#1 says you can cancel the contract, giving them a list of why, and get your money back. You DO NOT need to give them time to fix or rebut. Do DO have an agent, right? Call them and tell them you want out now
Do we need to write the letter ourselves or should this be done by the agent?
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