You are here:

Buying or Selling a Home/breaking a contact to buy a house

Advertisement

Expert: John Hendricks - 3/3/2008


Question
can you break a contract before you close for a house?My wife and thought we had the right first house picked out but then after we made the contract of sale we started getting second thoughts because the seller is supose to pay all closing cost.back to the point there were minor things found in  the home inspection and my company did the survey wich i was not aware of untill last minute when the title company asked when survey and flood cert was going to be done.also the sellers attorney threatend to sue of breech of contract because we have to carry flood insurance and with that puts us over our monthly budget.and i don't want to go into a house knowing we are going to barely make it.

Answer
Dear Charles;

Thank you for your question… I want to start first by recommending that you contact your real estate agent who helped you through the process of buying the home. The Realtor should be able to review all your the options based on the terms and conditions of contract in the state in which you are purchasing the home. If the Realtor cannot answer your question to your satisfaction, I would recommend you contact the broker/manager of the office he/she works out of to give you another opinion of your options.

The following are potential options a buyer has to cancel a contract in California. They may not pertain to the state in which this transaction is taking place.

1)   If you have not removed all your contingencies to purchase the home, you should be able to reject for no reason at all the disclosures and inspections that have been provided to you for your review, approval or disapproval. By rejecting these disclosures and inspections, you may be able to opt out of the contract with no costs other than your inspections and limited loan costs if any.

2)   If a new disclosure has been provided to you at anytime of he contract, at least in California, you have an additional 3 days to review, approve, or disapprove the disclosure, even if you removed your contingencies. The three days starts from the receipt of the new disclosure and you can cancel with no reason what so ever. Whether or not the flood insurance notification would be considered a disclosure, I would recommend you seek council from your Realtor, Real Estate Broker, or attorney.

3)   If you removed your financing contingency, you may have no option to cancel the contract, but if you didn't, you may not be able to qualify with the new payment, which may allow you to cancel the transaction. Check with your mortgage broker for the final payment in relationship with what you are qualified to pay.

I hope this information helps you Charles… Making a move to purchase a home is really big! So big, it could create enough fear to cause you not to move forward. Just make sure you are canceling the transaction for the right reasons, and not fear alone. Once again, consult your attorney and/or Realtor or Real Estate Broker to review all your options. That is what they are being paid for, so utilize their expertise in this matter.

Warmest Regards;
John Hendricks

Buying or Selling a Home

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

John Hendricks

Expertise

As a California Realtor for 23 years practicing in Marin and Sonoma Counties, it is now time to provide counsel through AllExperts.com to those who need advise in real estate. My knowledge and experience includes a wide range of resale residential real estate purchases, new home sales, income related investment properties involved in 1031 exchanges, and land. Let me help you in any of these areas...

Experience

John Hendricks has established himself as one of Marin & Sonoma Counties premier Realtors. A native Californian, John is a well-known and respected Realtor in both Marin & Sonoma Counties who has resided in the Northbay since 1976. John began his real estate career in 1986, and since then has distinguished himself as one or Northern California's top producing Realtors. Before joining Frank Howard Allen Realtors, John was an associate of the Prudential California Realty from 1990-1992 where his outstanding sales achievements earned him one of the company's highest honors, the prestigious "President's Circle Membership", presented to the top 2% of associates for sales and earning excellence. Since his association with the highly regarded Frank Howard Allen Realtors in 1992, John has once again established himself as one of his company's Top 10 Producing Realtors in Marin & Sonoma Counties for the years 1993 through 2007 and now in 2008. Five continuous years of outstanding performance has now allowed John to join 15 other Realtors in the prestigious "Lifetime Hall of Fame" for Frank Howard Allen Realtors. John established a group of professional individuals who specialize in a variety of areas in real estate called, 'Lundmark-Hendricks Fine Homes' This group of professionals are dedicated to the success of representing clients with the greatest amount of care and service when either buying or selling real estate.

Organizations
California Association of Realtors National Association of Realtors

Education/Credentials
Upon Request...

Awards and Honors
Frank Howard Allen Realtors "Hall of Fame Member" Chairman's Circle for 10 consecutive years

Past/Present Clients
Joe Louis & Sharon Sigurdson We want to thank you again for your excellent representation of interests during the recent purchase of our home in Petaluma as well as the sell of our home in Mill Valley. We had the unusual pleasure of working with you during the last year both as sellers and buyers. We felt that our interests were always paramount and that we received a very fair price for the sale of the Mill Valley house as well as our purchase of our new home. This speaks particularly well of you, because of the recent unstable and chaotic real estate market. Will Finke "Quite frankly, we came out of a very difficult situation, which time does not allow elaborating on. This was one of the greatest experiences of our lives as clients. John Hendricks is one of the top businessmen I have ever met." Bruce & Nancy Rosentreter "I chose John Hendricks to sell my house. I picked him because I thought he was professional, aggressive, and that he could get top dollar for my house. He fulfilled my expectations completely." Joy Schuelke "Since we were trying to sell a high end home in a very tough market, and in the middle of a very rainy winter, the prospects seemed quite bleak. I was convinced at the time, and am even more so now, that without John's tenure, patience, and tenacity, we would have not been able to move the property." Lynn McCarthy "I cannot stress strongly enough how impressed I was with the service provided to me by John and his group. Throughout the entire transaction, John was always available, always forthcoming with excellent advice based on his years of experience, and always willing to put in the extra effort to make this a positive experience for me. I feel lucky to have had the experience of working with him." Lea Lieurance-Turk "Thank you John for your outstanding real estate services for the past 5 years I have known you. You have made my dreams come true as far as selling and buying property."
http://www.LundmarkHendricksFineHomes.com

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.