If a home seller, who is the estate executor, has signed a contract to close an 'as-is' sale in ninety days, but puts off a repair he has committed to until a date that would exceed the time limit of the contract, what can be done about it? The BUYER wants the house no matter what, so is there any penalty/outcome other than the buyer being released from the contract terms? What can the buyer do to ensure that the repair happens in a timely manner if the contract time is extended?

Also, extending the contract forces that buyer to pay more money to lock in the FHA mortgage interest rate, AND to pay another month - at least - of rent to her current landlord. Can the seller be held legally responsible for the extra money?

Buyer and agent have made all appointments for meetings at the property, arranged for all estimates (which were accepted by the seller), and done everything short of physically dragging the seller to any discussions. Seller's real estate agent is a dish rag who won't stand up to seller, and buyer's agent can't get any commitment - other than the contract terms - that would initiate those terms.

HELP! :mad:

Hello j:

The buyer can do what his contract allows him to do. If whomever prepared the purchase and sales agreement didn't make provisions for monetary penalties on the seller for not meeting the terms of the contract, then they made a mistake.

If the only thing the buyer can do is walk away, then that's what the buyer can do. If the buyer is still going to be a buyer after this incident, I would hope the buyer has an attorney prepare the purchase and sales contract next time.

excon

excon is exactly correct. This all depends on the wording of the sales contract.

If the contract doesn't provide for monetary penalties then what the buyer may have to do is void the contract for breach. But if he still wants the property, then make a new offer to the seller for a lower purchase price that takes into account the additional rental and other expenses.

Your answers help me to understand, although not to feel better about it...

BUT, as a buyer, is there anything that can be done to hold the seller responsible for the commitment he makes for repairs? All I can do is back out of the contract?

That's why we draw up contracts. To spell out what each party is responsible to do and what will happen if they don't do it. If you signed a contract that didn't include consequences for the other party's failure to meet the terms of the contract, then you are stuck.

That's why we hire attorneys to draw up contracts.

When the original contract closing date passes you can send the seller a letter making time of the essence of the contract. In that letter you schedule a new closing date for 10 business days later and if they fail to appear to close on that date, and if they fail to have completed all of their obligations under the contract by that date, then you can declare them to be in default of the contract. At that point you can try to make a demand that they be held responsible for the costs that you've incurred as a result of their default and you can also file a lawsuit for specific performance of the contract.

I suggest that you retain a real estate attorney to handle this for you. Don't try to send a TOE letter on your own because if you don't word it properly it will be ineffective and you will just end up wasting time.