What do you do when a home seller does not complete repairs required by the buyer in a timely fashion?

Question

I'm purchasting a condo in California. The seller has not completed repairs we requested. Now my loan broker is telling me my "rate lock" ends on Thursday. I feel like I am being bullied into wiring the funds to close escrow. What happens if the broker's "deadline" expires? Can he charge me extra closing costs? How about this.. can I simply say, "Forget you, I'm going to seek another loan"?
What recourse does the loan agent have? He won't get paid until I close escrow, and if the rate changes, I'm entitled to decline the loan. Right?

Answer 1

As always, what does your contract say? Things such as this should be addressed in the contract.

The broker doesn't lock the rate, the lender does. Talk to the lender. The broker is NOT the lender and cannot commit anything for the lender.

Whether or not you can decline the loan (and walk away from the deal) depends upon your contract. If a rate is specified in the mortgage contingency clause and the rate rises above that you can walk away. If it does not, the seller can push you to complete the deal or walk with your earnest money. On the same token, time is of the essence in all contracts and if the seller isn't getting the repairs done in a timely manner the deal will die all by itself.

If you asked for repairs and the seller didn't agree to them, then the repairs are not part of the deal. In fact, if you asked for certain repairs and the seller never accepted that offer, you probably don't have a contract at all at this point.

As I said, it all depends upon what your contract says. Consult your attorney if you're not clear on the contract's requirements.