Posted by John Merchant on May 04, 2009 at 09:11:53:
Note to all…a walking buyer (WB) is rarely sued as the seller can just keep it on market until he finds a good buyer (at some price, maybe less than he’d offered walker)and seller is rarely willing to put up the attorneys fees wanted by his lawyer to sue that WB.
This can be pretty quickly verified by anybody by checking his local law on “Specific Performance” in his law library in local Legal Digest set*(e.g. TX Legal Digest) of several volumes.
When any state law on this is checked, look at the court decisions on the subject (all in that state Legal Digest set)and it’ll quickly be seen that the great majority of court cases there cited were one where B sued S, not vice versa.
So even if you as WB are getting all kinds of pressure and heat re all the terrible things that’re going to happen if you don’t close, just hang in there and don’t cave in to that seller as the great odds are he will NOT sue you.
*every state has its own Legal Digest set and its heavily used by lawyers to get into a subject quickly.
I am under contract to close in a couple weeks on what was advertised to be a “triplex” (i.e. listed as such on the MLS listing)…(I am a Newbie)…It turns out the top floor of the house does not have an egress out of the room other than the stairs down to the 2nd level - in Allegheny county (Pittsburgh) this will not fly…
I have discovered some mold I didn’t see before and now am looking to get out of this deal by whatever means.
Can I claim that this is really not a “Triplex”, or will the REO (Seller) claim that I bought “As-Is” and the fact that the Listing as a Triplex is the fault of the Listing Agent and not the Seller, even though it technically isn’t zonable as such (although the County website mistakingly shows it as a three family unit - but it’s not per my comment about the upper “unit” not having an external egress escape).
You need to know the exact status of the property per your county, + your state law about an “as-is” sale. Your state may require full disclosure no matter what the contract states.
Note that not all mold is a major problem, but you need to find out what this is from a pro. I know you just want out because you are feeling overwhelmed, but think it through from another angle–what a great opportunity to re-negotiate the price! “Naughty, naughthy, Mr. Agent, you advertised this as a triplex for your seller when it is not a legal structure. It is going to co$t me X dollar$ to make it right, plus a lot of time & effort, not to mention lost rents during construction. Therefore, to complete this deal in a timely fashion, I need a concession of $___. Oh, & the mold, a health hazard, has to be mitigated.”
I recommend you find the very best REI attorney (no, you can’t find him/her in the yellow pages) before going any further w/the seller & agent. Do your DD now (better late than never). Note for future reference that if you go through the seller’s agent you have no one representing you. A buyer’s agent, someone who only works for you, can save a lot of money & agony on deals. Next time make sure you have contingencies.
I wish you luck in getting this deal either done or un-done. Keep us posted–