Posted by gail on October 06, 2007 at 11:57:04:
the 37.5 acres is unimproved.
we had a verbal agreement prior but understand even with witness that that would be hard to enforce. We later got the written offer. We have talked to a few people in real estate in the area and the feel that yes it is a binding contract.
we have an apointment with a local attorney.
is this a contract? - Posted by gail
Posted by gail on October 04, 2007 at 11:01:13:
her is the main body of letter sent to us.
June 28, 2007
After having the real estate agent come and look at the 37.5 acres,
they have gotten back with me regarding the fair market value of the property.
They told me the 37.5 acres was worth $1,500-$1,800 per acre.
37.5 acres @ $1,500 per acre is $56,250.
If you would like to purchase the 37.5 acres at the above amount
let me know in writing within 30 days from the date of this letter.
If I do not hear from you within the 30 days from the date of this letter
my plans are to put the acreage on the market for sale.
We responded within a few days by certified mail and stated that we would puchase the ground at his stated price.
we also contacted him by email about the closing,
is this a binding agreement.
The Title company feels it is and so do we.
Re: is this a contract? - Posted by John Merchant
Posted by John Merchant on October 05, 2007 at 21:49:02:
A contract needs offer, acceptance and consideration and I doubt if any court would find consideration was present in this deal.
However I’ve seen weaker deals work for the buyer where he basically bluffed the owner into thinking there WAS a good and valid contract, so if you hang in there and put up a good enough show you might pressure the owner into making a deal with you.
Re: is this a contract? - Posted by Tai
Posted by Tai on October 04, 2007 at 13:17:50:
the real question you are asking, is whether this is
a contract where you can force the seller to sell to you.
ultimately, only the court will decide whether to
force the seller to sell based on this and other emails.
in my opinion, even if you have a good contract,
asking the courts to force sellers to sell, would
likely fail.
but you can always pretend you are serious about it
and perhaps scare the seller into honoring his
agreement. in which case, paying a lawyer a few bucks
to send a letter on his letterhead, etc, may do the
trick.
good luck
contract? - Posted by Nike
Posted by Nike on October 04, 2007 at 11:36:31:
It may be. Assuming he signed the letter then other issue is whether the language “the 37.5 acres” is a sufficient legal description such that it makes clear what is for sale. If it was a valid offer then your acceptance created a binding contract the moment you mailed it.
This sounds more like a law exam question.
Re: is this a contract? - Posted by Randy
Posted by Randy on October 04, 2007 at 11:21:18:
I may be wrong but I believe that it would only be binding if there has been a form of consideration such as money or something of value on your part given to the seller or for the agent to put in escrow along with a written agreement such as an offer to purchase or a purchase and sales contract.
Re: is this a contract? - Posted by gail
Posted by gail on October 06, 2007 at 11:59:33:
what exactally do you mean by consideration?
contract? - Posted by Nike
Posted by Nike on October 06, 2007 at 06:21:05:
Lack of consideration? Assuming there’s a valid offer and accepatnce then consideration is satisfied by the exchange of promises/obligations. What’re you talking about?
Re: contract? - Posted by gail
Posted by gail on October 04, 2007 at 12:34:03:
The letter was in the form of an email, his name adress, our on the bottom of letter.
he did accept our registered letter.
There is no question about the ground the 37.5 acres it is the only 37.5 acres he owns that is attached to our property.
he has also replied by email to our inquiry as to closing dates and other information.
: contract? - Posted by Nike
Posted by Nike on October 04, 2007 at 16:17:32:
C’mon–this is a law exam question–now you raise the issues: whether an email offer satisfies the statute of frauds and you introduce an exception to the SOF- i.e. subsequent statements/letters confirming the agreement. Whether he accepted the letter is irrelevant, assuming you had a legal offer a binding contract occurred the moment you mailed your acceptance.
Is the full 37.5 acres unimproved land? Have you talked to a local attorney?