What happens if I back out of purchasing a home I put a offer in on?? Im in Virginia!?

Question

I put a bid in on a home, and when we did the home inspection there were a tremendous amount of problems. I was notified that 5 days after he was notified of the problems they were all fixed! In the inspection 50% of the home was not visible due to all the furniture and boxes they had in each room. The homeowner is also a handy man and added a lot of upgrades himself. This does not sit right woth me because after purchasing this home I will be on a strict budget and have no money to put into the home if something goes wrong. I have made up my mind and want to back out and the closing is in 2 weeks . My realtor is telling me they can sue me. What can I do??

Answer 1

What you should have done was put a clause in the contract that said that the sale was contingiant on the owner making all the necessary repairs. Yes, you can be sued and forced to buy the home. I suggest that you talk to your realtor and tell him to speak to the brooker. Usually, if the owner knows you want to back out of the deal, he may lower the price of the home or make the necessary repairs. Also, go with the bank that is going to finance the loan. They may help you force the owner to make the repairs before they approve the loan.

Answer 2

If you back out, with everythng on the inspection fixed, then they are right, they can sue you, and they would have a case.

Whether they would win would depend on how the purchase agreement was worded.

In many agreements, if there is a requiremnt for a home inspection there are one of two clauses. One would be "Subject to Buyers approval of home inspection." If that is the case, you have virtually unlimited right to cancel the transaction because you do not like the results, whether they were fixed or not.

Other times though, it will simply say that "Seller will pay up to $500 in repairs." or something similar, in which case you have no out.

So if it is the first, no problem, just write a letter saying in accordance with the terms of the purchase agreement you do not apporove of the inspection and you cancel the purchase, make sure it gets to the real estate agent.

If the second, you still have some play room, because if the inspector was not able to do a thorough inspection becaue of the items belonging to the owner there, insist on a complete inspection.

If the seller balks, just let them know that you know your rights, and that if the inspection was unable to be completely thorough because of the personal property of the owner, you must assume there are more problems that have not been discovered. They can sue, but if there is one thing in the house the inspector missed that would cause you not to buy the house, the seller and real estate agent will lose the lawsuit and hacve to pay you damages.

What I would do, is insist on a second inspection to be done when the house is cleared out of the owner's belongings. Offer to pay for it yourself. If it comes back clean, all well and good. You can be assured that you shouldn't have problems with the house. However, if problems comeback again, then you have a legal reason to cancel.

Good luck.

Answer 3

What does your Purchase contract say? Did you sign one? You CAN be sued if the purchase contract is valid and timetables are set (that's why people use them, so don't think that you can't be sued...because you absolutely can under certain conditions). You have to find a 'loop' in the contract if the inspection period is over, or, approach the SELLER...not the realtor...and see what the seller has to say. How much time for inspections does it give you? Who did the inspection when 50% was not visible...you? Or a licensed inspector? And if the home had a lot of problems...why buy it? If acquiring the home puts you on a strict budget, you're buying to much home to begin with. Lastly, you can back out if the house is unsafe....are the problems cosmetic or more serious? What do the laws in your state require? You have to check these things out...and your realtor is not going to tell you everything it seems in this case. The seller doesn't want to sue you if he can help it...it cost him money too! Have a professional inspection done before you do anything else. if you don't have the money, then stop now (if you can)...you shouldn't be buying a house. You can't afford it (you're buying a house with no reserve cash?), good deal or not. That's the real issue here.

Answer 4

depending on what was written in the offer paperwork, you may have no problem at all getting out of this. Did you specify that the sale was contingent upon a satisfactory home inspection? if you aren't sure, get the paperwork and read it. If you have that in writing, you don't have to go through with the sale and you don't owe anyone anything. If it is not in there, still not a problem. You can back out, but you will lose some of your earnest money - the realtor can take some of it for advertising etc. but usually not all of it. A good real estate lawyer and a quick consult on what would be a fair amount etc. is worth it, usually you can get a consult on something like this for not much out of pocket. I had this happen several years ago, put in an offer on a house, got the loan and everything, had the house inspected and found major insect damage. I wanted out because of the expense involved in correcting the damage. The realtor tried to keep my earnest money, and a fast phone call from a lawyer had them return almost the entire amount. So don't listen to the realtor, they are looking after their commission and not your best interests !!! hope this helps.

Answer 5

Your realtor is correct. If the issues raised in the home inspection were properly remediated, you now have a fully binding contract to purchase.

You certainly have the right to ask for appropriate documentation that these problems WERE fixed. I would not rely on a simple document claiming that they were fixed. However, if appropriate documentation is provided (perhaps with a re-inspection at seller cost if he cannot provide receipts from qualified contractors), then you are basically obligated to continue with your purchase.

The clue to your reluctance and problem is your comment about it 'not sitting right with you'. This is an undocumented fear, and will not stand up in a court of law.

Do not take take lightly the comment that you can be sued. If he DOES elect to sue for breach of contract, the damages to you can be FAR over what you might expect.

If this person incurred ANY expenses due to your breach of contract, you can be held liable for those expenses, along with the seller's costs of pursuing litigation.

I recommend a re-inspection of the premises to satisfy yourself that the issues have been corrected. If they are professionally noted that the defects have been cured and you still refuse to close, get ready for a judgment against yourself.

Answer 6

I'm not an attorney, and I don't live in VA, so I would strongly suggest you find one. The attorney needs to review your contract and inform you of your legal rights. In some cases, someone can sue you for "specific performance" (your failure to exercise some part of your agreement); however, there seem to be a number of contingencies, which I would point out with your attorney (forget the Realtor at this point. Unless she/he practices law, the Realtor cannot interpret the contract, which was likely written by an attorney):

--50% of the home was not available for the inspection due to the fault of the seller

--were any of these upgrades actual additions that required obtaining of proper permits?

A court of law is highly unlikely to make you buy something as substantial as a home if you do not wish to buy it. Most contracts are written to protect sellers from buyers who simply have "buyer's remorse," not from buyers who don't want to buy a lemon of a house.

Consult an attorney. Good luck.

Answer 7

i dont think that they can sue you. most real estate deals has something called "earnest money" its a sum of money usually around $500-$1000 that is promised to the owner if you back out. just for i guess "wasting" thier time. if you didnt get the loan *wink* then there is NOTHING that they can do!!! i sold my house recently and i had a couple back out because they decided to seperate. if no papers are signed yet then they cant do anything!! have you signed any papers? i think this realtor is just wanting thier chunk of money and you may need to find a new one or just ask another realtor about it without telling the situation. just say... i am looking to buy a house... if i make a bid on a house and then change my mind before the closing dates what if any are the penalties? dont let them stiff you its horrible how people are so crooked to others now adays... good luck with this and let us know how it turns out.

Answer 8

you may rescind, yet till the broker is extremely beneficiant, or you have a loophole i'm no longer responsive to, you will lose your deposit. If the deposit is sufficiently small which you at the instant are not in touch approximately dropping, by way of all ability, rescind. yet: the broker CAN sue you for particular overall performance, I.E., have a decide MAKE you purchase the domicile. This in spite of the undeniable fact that, is extremely uncommon, and can basically be interior the broker's maximum suitable pastimes to do it in case you heavily hindered the sale of their belongings, combating them from accomplishing their objectives (The neglected different supplies while you wasted their time, money, and advertising time, now they might't sell...) My advice is this: in case you will no longer leave out the deposit money, rescind and bypass on with existence. Like I suggested, spec. perf. fits are uncommon. yet whilst available, close on the acquisition of this domicile and hire out the two it or your previous domicile, relieving you of the incredibly some tension of paying 2 mortgages.

Answer 9

Sounds like you're stuck. When the owner accepted your bid, it went to contract. Backing out now will be a breach of contract and you can be sued.

Answer 10

ask your lender for a denial letter. he may if you one, but no one want to not get paid, so you must let him/her know you still want to buy, but not that house...