Hello,
I am in Oregon. My husband and I signed a sales agreement but now need to get out due to the loss of my job. Mutual acceptance was on 4/18 at 6pm. This is the day we signed their counteroffer. They gave us a promissory note with specified 3 business days to redeem. They opened escrow on 4/22. Is this past the 3 business days? Is this a legitimate way out of the contract? Any input is appreciated. Some realtors have said it is the day the realtor gets the check in their hands, not the day they open escrow. The buyers are seeking legal remedy (at least they say they are).

Many Thanks,
Turtleduck

Don't understand your post....

You received a promissory note..... are you doing owner finance?

Between 4/18 and 4/22 is four Business days.

Do you have an agent representing you and does the buyer?

We have no idea what your contract stated... so we could not give our opinion on your situation with any clarity.

You would be best served by contacting a real estate attorney if you can not work out the problem with buyers through your agent if you have one.

As a minimum you should consider offering to reimburse their out of pocket expensed they have incurred to date.

Sorry- more clarification would have been good on my side.

We had a realtor who we have "fired". The contract said we would sell and close end of May with no additional contingencies.

Now both realty companies are suing for their commissions... Aren't there extenuating circumstances when someone loses a job or has a medical condition?

This may not be a great help to you – but ….

You have 2 issues

The commission due the real estate people (or not) is separate from your obligation to sell as per your contract (or not)

Remember, you have someone who expects to move into your home and make it theirs. They too will be impacted by your misfortune - get things on the table as soon as you can......

You need a lawyer – not advice from anonymous web posters who, with all respect, may or may not know any more than you.

Good Luck ........ Dave

Talk to a lawyer quick. If the agents brought the sale, they are entitled to commission

I know... this is a tough one for all parties involved. Thank you for your advice. We are consulting an attorney this week and hopefully we will have all of the answers.

Dates are tricky, get some advice. It depends if it's three days from acceptance or three days including the date of acceptance- read your contract.

Jody

May I ask - if your husband lost a job, wouldn't it be best to not have the house payment?

Also, why did you fire your agent? If your agent procured the sale, had your home listed, marketed which produced a buyer, they absolutely deserve a commission whether you close or not. You are the ones who defaulted on the listing contract.

Good luck with your real estate attorney. You may find that selling the home may be your cheaper option. Have the buyers given notice/sold their home - in other words, are they "homeless" for a bit if they do not get your home?

Read and reread your contract. In ours, the buyer in this situation can sue your pants off - expenses, time and trouble, etc. The agents suing for commission will likely win, if in fact there is no "legal" reason your are backing from this sale. Default remedies are always very steep, and this is to keep situations like this from happening.

I had friends once who simply changed their mind and refused to sell after all. The buyers sued them for specific performance in court and won, and it was very very expensive and in the end, the sellers were forced to sell the home anyway.

Hope it works out for you.

Well, we have a smaller home now and wanted a larger one but with the loss of my job we are happy to stay put or else we move into an apartment with two toddlers and a 10 yr old.
Technically our contract had expired and they refused to help us anymore so we told them we didn't want the representation. I know these thinks can get expensive and we may have to cave at the end. The buyer is a single guy who rents and he hasn't spent any money on appraisal or inspection thus far. We tried to give him notice via his agent right away but the market is so hot right now that apparently he doesn't want to let it go.

Before I say anything, "get an attorney, a real estate attorney".

Because "we are happy to stay put" isn't a legal reason to cancel a contract for sale. And the financial situation of the buyer doesn't bend the constraints of the contract... It sounds like he has a fully executed contract to buy.

Like Dave said, 2 different issues. 1) get an attorney to deal with the sale issue and a financial advisor to look at your situation to see if it's just plain better for you to sell.
2) Deal with the commission issues afterwards. If you decide to sell anyways, they will be a non-issue.

Unfortunately, they also significantly undervalued the price of the home... 5 days later the same model sold for 20K more. Same lot size, upgrades were comparable.

That would not be an issue.... you agreed to the sale price.... just because you "think" you could get a better price can actually work against you in this specific situation.

You should expect a Notice of Les Pendens for Specific Performance.... very soon from the buyer. As you have indicated you already have them from your agents.


Unless you contract very specifically provides a contingency for which you can withdraw, you will most likely find your responsible for performance or significant damages.... and legal fees... probably from both sides.

Make sure your attorney is knowledgeable and not just out to collect fees.