Hello!

Im new to the site and I need serious help. I was about to purchase a house in Pennsylvania. My closing date was suppose to be tomorrow Jan. 7th but the seller has advised his agent that he wants to be released from the contract. He states he can not make repairs that we requested and so he would like to be released. I have invested money in a appraisal, inspection and title company and would like my money back! The seller is very unreasonable and is pulling out because he found out he has to pay a inheritance tax which is not a reason to default. My question is can I sue him and about how much will this cost me, is it worth it? At this point I dont even care about the house I just want my money back!

Home inspections are typically done after a price and terms have been negotiated and settled on by buyer and seller.

A "satisfactory home inspection" (whatever that means) is also typically a condition or contingency that still needs to be satisfied and removed by mutual agreement of both parties.

Repairs that buyers may request as a result of a home inspection create no obligation on the part of sellers to do these repairs.

If the seller refuses to do repairs requested by a buyer that means a contingency in the contract has not been satisfied and the contact CAN BE voidable by either party.

This depends on the wording in the contract and since we're not party to the exact wording we can only speak from personal experiences and contract law in our respective states.

If there is some sort of inheritance tax due that tax will still be due when and if the seller ever sells the property so he's just postponing the inevitable.

As for you getting a refund of already paid inspection and appraisal fees I don't see that happening.

I have contacted a few lawyers and they said I have a case. He is defaulting because of the inheritance tax and wants to bring up repairs as an excuse. This man has threatened his agent and has listed this house with 2 different real estates. The contract states the amountof the home and he provides a seller assist which oh yeah by the way he doesnt want to pay anymore after he signed the contract. The contract states its a FHA loan which means if repairs are needed seller needs to make them but he claims he was under heavy medication when he signed the contract! Do you see what I am dealing with
!

Ask the "Lawyer" if he will accept the case on contingency... with no fees.

That will tell you how good he really thinks your case is.

It is very unlikely that a sale can be forced unless you had very specific wording in the contract about the sellers responsibility to make any FHA required repairs. These are needed to get your financing but are often not a mandatory requirement for a seller to make... very frequently a FHA Appraiser will say a roof is near the end of its life expectancy and sellers refuse to make repairs and sale at the same price. Wording is normally not in the contract to force the seller to do it... but they do have the opportunity if they wish.

Our contracts have a specific limit to seller repair cost for both non cosmetic damage and termite treatment and damage.

You really need to look at the cost of attempting to get your desired results. While we do not know the exact wording and could not provide "legal advise" even if we did... it appears you case is very weak and the only winners would be the Lawyers.....

Just ask him to work on total contingency.....

If the contract says it's to be an FHA insured loan that still does not obligate the seller to make any lender required repairs nor repairs you ask to make as a result of a home inspection.

If that were true it would in effect be giving a blank check that the seller would have to honor by doing whatever FHA required repaired or upgraded as a condition of granting the loan.

Bottom line here is if you or the lender have asked the seller to make any sort of repairs and he refuses you don't have a deal; in fact you never had one with any sort of contingency still unresolved.

Sue the seller if you feel you can win but don't hold your breath until it happens.

We would be very interested in hearing the outcome of this transaction.

He agreed to the repairs and seller assist and now doesnt want to comply with any of those terms. This is very discouraging, there is no protection for the buyer, either way I get screwed if I was to default he would walk away with my deposit and if he defaults Im out appraisal, inspection and title costs. This sucks and I might just rent forever because I cant afford to drop money everytime a seller feels like walking. (sigh) will let you all know of the outcome, thanks for all advice.