Expert: liznarr - 9/18/2008

Question
My dad bought a land, actually two lands from a agent last December. We have paid 10% deposit for each land. My dad doesn't know any English, but persuaded to sign the agreement. Now, we haven't got the possession of the land yet, and we don't want the lands now. Can we cancel the deal and get our money back? By the way, in the agreement, there is no specific time frame for transferring the land, which is tricky. And it also turned out that the agent is also the vendor itself. So what can we do? By the way, we are in Newzealand.

Answer
Hi Lin,

Is the land your Dad purchased in New Zealand or the United States?  If the land is in New Zealand, I do not know anything about real estate laws there.

If the land is in the US … your Contract of Sale should have stated a closing date.  Secondly, the agent should have disclosed PRIOR to entering into a Contract with you that he was the owner of the property.  Third, if the Contract was written in English and your non-English speaking Dad did not comprehend what he was signing, the Contract may be voidable.

I have a multitude of questions in my mind that possibly could be answered by looking at your Contract of Sale.  Without having seen your Contract, however, I strongly recommend that your Dad contact an attorney immediately for legal advice.

Hopefully, your Dad will be able to get his ten percent deposit back that he paid on each tract of land.

Good luck to you.  Please feel free to write again if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth