Expert: Dick Dennis - 11/18/2010

Question
Hi Dick,
My house has been under contract since September 2010.  
Recently, the buyer asked for an additional 2 weeks to secure a mortgage at a lower percent, which I agreed to.  Now the additional time has passed and they still have not secured a mortgage.

The real estate agent I was using removed their sign from my property.  They said it was removed in error.  Now they have removed their listing from their website.

My attorney said, I should give them another extension since there are no other buyers.

I explained that there are no other buyers because they removed the sign and now the house from their site, although other homes in the same situation have a banner saying pending sale.

I want to call off the deal because I feel the realtor has been acting in an unscrupulous manner, and I need to sell the house.

I would greatly appreciate your opinion.
Thanks,
Carol  

Answer
In my opinion, Carol, you should call in a different Realtor (two or three would be nice). And ask that person (the one you choose) what is his/her opinion. They will not want to take a listing if the other one is still valid. But they will investigate.

Also, what you want to do is to give a notice to the "buyer" that you will allow his offer to "percolate" but you will keep the house on the market, looking for another buyer. If you do get another offer, you should give your present buyer 72 hours (customary) to remove the financing contingency. Should they not do that, then you are free to continue on with the backup buyer. Your new Realtor should know all about how to handle that. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis
dixiedee13@aol.com