Expert: Dick Dennis - 10/7/2007

Question
Hi -
We foolishly signed a contract to have a house built last Spring for a house that was/is WAY too expensive for us. We hoped to buy the house and somehow pay the mortgage for a year and then sell it for a profit (their sales person was good at making this all seem possible). The only way we even qualified for the loan was to do a 'no-doc' with their in-house lender. We gave them a deposit of $25k. We have since come to our senses and there is no way we are going through with closing on this house.  Contract seems pretty clear that if we back out that they get to keep our deposit.  Just wondering though if there might be any way possible that we can get our money back.  We can in no way afford to lose that $25k and are desperate to come up with a way to get it back........

Answer
In almost every purchase agreement, Kathy, is a contingency that says if the buyer does not qualify for the loan, then the buyer may back out without penalty. Soooooo. If it turns out you don't qualify, maybe your job is no longer there, or maybe you have more debt than the lender would accept, then, you should be able to back out. Or, contact a REAL ESTATE attorney and tell him/her your story and see what can be done. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis       dixiedee13@aol.com