Real Estate Contract?

[Jpup]

Do we have any real estate experts out there? I need some advice concerning the pending purchase of a new home. The Seller is not living up to his end of the contract. What can I do?

[LoganBuck]

Extrapolate.

Was it in writing, or was it an oral agreement?

[RedFanAlways1966]

All depends on the situation and where you are in the deal. I once signed a contract to purchase a house at an agreed upon price. The owner disclosed that the only problem in the hosue was one faulty outlet in the garage. While having a person do a full house inspection it was determined:

(1) Garage was full of termites.
(2) Plumbing needed redone in the upstairs bathroom b/c of the mixture of two non-compatible metals in the piping.
--And last, but not least--
(3) It poured rain the day of the inspection and there was 2-3 inches of water on the basement floor.

I wrote an "official letter" telling the owner that I wanted all of these things fixed (around $10K to repair all). They refused and told me that these problems did not exist. I told the real estate agent that the deal was off b/c they would not repair the problems and I wanted the $500 I gave when sigining the contract. The seller has to agree to release the money to me (kept in an escrow account by the real estate company) and they refused. I filed a lawsuit in small claims court against the real estate company and the seller. The seller never showed for the hearing and I got my $500 back (given to me by the real estate company when I showed them court documentation of the ruling) plus the seller owed me $41.67 interest for keeping my money tied up.

Funny story... the seller had moved to Phoenix. They applied for a loan to buy a house in Phoenix. They were denied the loan b/c a lien was filed on their Dayton property for not paying me the $41.67 interest! They had an attorney call me and threaten to sue me (for what I do not know!) if I did not go to the court and tell them that our suit was settled. I told the attorney to send me $41.67 or I'd gladly see them in court and counter-sue for a lot more than $41.67 for troubling me. Once I told him the whole story (which his clients did not do), he told me the money would be to me via mail in a couple of days. It came and I went to the court and told them the case was settled.

[WMR]

All depends on the situation and where you are in the deal. I once signed a contract to purchase a house at an agreed upon price. The owner disclosed that the only problem in the hosue was one faulty outlet in the garage. While having a person do a full house inspection it was determined:

(1) Garage was full of termites.
(2) Plumbing needed redone in the upstairs bathroom b/c of the mixture of two non-compatible metals in the piping.
--And last, but not least--
(3) It poured rain the day of the inspection and there was 2-3 inches of water on the basement floor.

I wrote an "official letter" telling the owner that I wanted all of these things fixed (around $10K to repair all). They refused and told me that these problems did not exist. I told the real estate agent that the deal was off b/c they would not repair the problems and I wanted the $500 I gave when sigining the contract. The seller has to agree to release the money to me (kept in an escrow account by the real estate company) and they refused. I filed a lawsuit in small claims court against the real estate company and the seller. The seller never showed for the hearing and I got my $500 back (given to me by the real estate company when I showed them court documentation of the ruling) plus the seller owed me $41.67 interest for keeping my money tied up.

Funny story... the seller had moved to Phoenix. They applied for a loan to buy a house in Phoenix. They were denied the loan b/c a lien was filed on their Dayton property for not paying me the $41.67 interest! They had an attorney call me and threaten to sue me (for what I do not know!) if I did not go to the court and tell them that our suit was settled. I told the attorney to send me $41.67 or I'd gladly see them in court and counter-sue for a lot more than $41.67 for troubling me. Once I told him the whole story (which his clients did not do), he told me the money would be to me via mail in a couple of days. It came and I went to the court and told them the case was settled.

NICE

[Jpup]

Extrapolate.

Was it in writing, or was it an oral agreement?

It's in writing. He agreed to pay 1500 of the closing costs and now will not/can not pay it. The realty company has agreed to pay 750 of it and my lender has agreed to pay 400 of it. That leaves me with having to pay, or so they say, 350.

The house is in a "short sale" with his lender and after he signed the contract, I was told that his bank had orally agreed to the contract. When I sent my letter of approval to his lender, they refused to pay the 1500. The realty co. tells me that to keep the deal together, I must pay the 350. I first refused to pay it, but I keep getting told that it's not worth the hassle of 350 dollars to sue him.

The inspections are tomorrow and Tuesday. I supposed to close on the house next Friday, if I agree to pay the balance.

[RedFanAlways1966]

I first refused to pay it, but I keep getting told that it's not worth the hassle of 350 dollars to sue him.

Who told you this? My guess is the real estate agent who wants their commission for the sale. $350 is small claims court. About a $20-$30 filing fee. Takes 15 minutes to file and about 1/2 hour of your time when the case is heard. All this is not a hassle in regard to $350. If you win, the seller has to pay the $350 and pay you the $20-$30 filing fee.

If you have it in writing (not a "my word against your word" thing), it sounds like a slam-dunk case to me.

[SunDeck]

Tell the agent that if $350 is such a small amount that they can pay it.

I had a situation where an idiot inspector said the split panel box we had on our old house was not up to the current electrical code. He recommended a new breaker box, which is about $1000 to install. I told our realtor to find an electrician to inspect and counter with an explanation for the idiot inspector of what a split panel is (and that it is perfectly safe and was quite common in the 60's). She told me that she thought it best to just eat the $1000, since it was all that was preventing the sale of the home.
"Fine", I said. "You pay it. You have the sale of this house and the one we are purchasing on the line and I can't afford to toss another $1000 down the toilet. This sale is at risk because of an incompetent inspector, not for any legitimate reason. You pay it."
The next day, she and the other realtor agreed on an electrician to provide a follow up inspector who took about five minutes to write up an explanation of the breaker box.

[Jpup]

I'm thinking about just going ahead and paying it just so I can buy the house this week and then taking him to court. I think I'll ask him to pay it, at least one more time. I think I need to let him know that I will be seeing him in court if he doesn't want to pay.

[LoganBuck]

Is this guy still in the house?

[bucksfan2]

I think you have to look at how bad you want the properity. Is $300 a deal breaker? Could you work a deal where you put up the $300 yet take that away from the sale value of the house?

[Jpup]

Is this guy still in the house?

yes.

[gonelong]

Tell the agent that if $350 is such a small amount that they can pay it.

No kidding. I'd probably offer to 50/50 split the $350 with the real-estate agent. You can either have most of your comission or none of it. Take it or leave it.

GL

[oneupper]

FWIW, I had an issue when I bought my house. Seller wouldn't sell (I believe he had another higher offer). Didn't show up for the closing.

They figured we'd go away. I got a lawyer and a couple of faxes later, they couldn't wait to sign. I retained the guy for $7500, of which he used less than $500 and gave me the rest back. Best $500 bucks EVER. But I was willing to take the issue ALL the way (which could have taken quite a while and about $15k).

Lesson 1: If you're going to sue, you have to be willing to go all the way
Lesson 2: Don't let people screw with you...particularly if you have it in writing.

My advice: sue the sucker in small claims, it's a hassle (I looked it up), but it will be for him also. Even if it costs you more in time, it will be worth the satisfaction.

[LawFive]

Well, sheesh. I came over here to (admittedly) boast about having a signed contract today - my first home purchase! And I see that someone already started a real estate thread. Anyway, best of luck to ya Jpup. I hope things turn out well. One question: how long after your offer was accepted did it take for you to get a full night's sleep? I might have gotten about 3 hours last night.

[Jpup]

Ok, so the inspection was today. It was full of problems. First, the dishwasher did not work. Second, he took all the blinds off the windows, which he can't do. He did not clean the carpet as he agreed to do in the contract. The garage door looked to be about to fall in the floor. There are a couple other little things as well.

I'm going to have to call a lawyer or something and see what's up. I think I'm done with this guy. I told my realty agent that if I so much as had one more problem this week, I was done. I had a bad day.

I have it all in writing and have copies of the contract that he signed and dated. I never considered suing someone before, but I think I have to. I am guessing that I have just lost my appraisal fee and my inspection fee. I think I'll try to get that too. I've been trying to buy this house for over a month. It's been 4 weeks since my counter offer was accepted and I'm still having a ton of problems. I actually don't even think I want the house now. I am just mad that this has cost me time, money, and a lot of frustration.

Thanks for the advice guys. Any you guys could give would be great.