Expert: Derek Hamilton - 11/11/2010

Question
I accepted a conditional offer (financing, inspection) for my house. The buyers requested 5 business days to provide waivers for them. Expiry is in 1.5 days from now. I just received word from my agent that they want to back out of the accepted offer. The father thinks his son paid too much money. (It was appraised at $10000 more than he paid). My agent thinks he can get his $10000 deposit back. There has been no attempt to get the inspector or financing. Can they really get their deposit back and can they really back out like this? As well to top it off, I had an offer on the table I was ready to accept, but accepted this one in good faith.I can't believe that you can walk away from this...what is the point of a contract, conditional or otherwise????
I would really appreciate your thoughts on this matter

Answer
Hi Jo,
Buyer's can walk away from a Conditional deal anytime!! They should get the deposit back ASAP. That's why it's Conditional! It's really worthless! The Buyer's can just walk away...They have changed their mind. The Buyer's can walk away because they don't like the colour of the paint. They can say the Financing wasn't acceptable to them? Your Real Estate Agent knows this. If you had a clean offer without Conditions on the table, you had the opportunity to accept this firm offer at a lower price. Your Agent should have explained the importance of a clean firm offer! I wouldn't pay too much attention to the appraisal... A property is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay.
Put your property back on the market and pretend none of this ever happened. If the property shows well and it's priced right and you have an experienced Real Estate professional then you're good to go.
You should think about getting a pre-home Inspection prepared for your property so potential Buyer's can read the report first before they present an offer.
Good luck!!
Derek