.

If they have lawyers, you'll want a attorney too, just my thoughts. I hope things work out for you.

1) What do you mean "I got out of my escrow?"

2) I assume you have an active contract on yoru old house someone is about to buy and they have earnest money in escrow?

3) "i read the contract and it was signed after i cancelled." What do you mean by this? The purchase contract? How exactly did you cancel?

4) What exactly do you want to happen? I gather you do not want to sell your house. How far are you willing to go to not sell it? How much in legal and damages are you willing to pay to not sell? Would it not be better just to sell and find something else? Are you willing to get a lawyer upfront (and pay money to fight a suit you might lose) or are you going to defend yourself?

Realize it's easy for people to say "get a lawyer" but you're the one who will be paying for the lawyer, probably upfront.

If you signed a legally binding sales contract with a buyer it appears they now want you to follow through and do what you said you would do in the contract, i.e. sell them your house.

Going to court is always a crap shoot so who knows what will happen??

We would all be very interested to hear your outcome.

In addition to specific performance,your realtor may be entitled to a commission whether the deal closes or not. Agent was contracted to find a buyer, and Agent did his job, and could expect compensation.

Go see an attorney ASAP!!

.

look should have done due diligence and found property before you sold,they will stick you too the contract why not sell it then live in an apartment until you find the right place or with a family member.If you are honest and sincere with them sometimes people can come together explain your circumstanes and be nice maybe they will give you more time to find something.good luck

.

If you have a copy of a contract, faxed or not, and it is signed by all parties to this transaction you probably have a legally binding contract.

If however, you do not have a copy of the signed contract with all the parties signatures affixed you many not have a valid contract but an offer which you are free to reject.

I believe it would be worth your while to consult with a local attorney to see exactly where you stand and what your obligations to everyone may be.

Wow! If I'm reading your post correctly, you live in California. California law is pretty specific regarding real estate.

Here's a thing you have going in your favor. You stated that escrow has not been opened and the buyer's deposit has not been put into escrow. They are required to put the monies into escrow within 3 days or you can cancel the agreement due to their failure of performance, check with your agent for specifics.

Sounds like the buyers agent also aren't sure if the contract is valid, especially since your side has told them that the contract has been cancelled/not accepted. The counter offers have expiration times & dates, have the times & dates gone past? If you don't have their signatures, then it's not a legally binding document.

In the future, NEVER sign a document that doesn't have the other parties signature. NEVER!!

The thing that would be in your favor should you go to court is that escrow was not openend. If the buyer truly wanted the property, they would have put their funds into escrow. They have not shown good faith.

Your agent should know all of this - contact their broker and arrange a meeting to see what if any obligations you have to the first offer.

If the time lines are still open, do a counter back to both offers and mark it multiple counter offer. Raise the price on the first one by xx and then counter back some terms on the 2nd. This way, you can legally accept which ever offer you decide is in your best interest.

I'm surprised your agent didn't suggest modifying the terms of the first offer to make is contingent upon you finding a replacement home. If they modified those terms, then you wouldn't be in this boat in the first place.

Okay, one more thing - sorry to be so long!! A buyer can sue the seller for loss of profit during the escrow period under california law. So say they were going to purchase yours for 100,000 and during the escrow period two other comparable homes came on the market and sold for higher, say 120,000 - the buyer could sue for the loss of equity (20,000). The buyer would have up to 4 years to sue the seller for this loss.

Sellers legally do not have the ability to back out of a purchase agreement once it has been signed by all parites unless the buyers fail to perform and a notice to perform is issued to the buyers. Sellers can back of the listing agreement, but that has to be done BEFORE an offer is accepted, or signed. Sellers legally do not have the right to change their minds and cancel the agreement due to sellers remorse. It's the buyers that can back of an offer during the contingency period - not the sellers. The sellers can't back out.

Okay, I've said my 2 cents!! I've worked with a lot of buyers and have run into some interesting problems with Sellers wanting to change their minds. The buyers have every right to sue, but they have to show due dilligence and the monies have to be in escrow within 3 days, or it's not a vaild contract.

Good Luck!! Definately consult an attorney - this information is from my experiences - I am not a lawyer!!!!

Katricia
katricia@kw.com

Just to clear this up, you mean a Seller should not sign a document that has not been already signed by the buyer, Like on a offer or counteroffer?

And if that is what you meant, what is your reasoning for a seller not signing anything that a buyer hasn't?

Otherwise, I see it as a endless loop.

Now that's just silly.

How come Jason? What's your reasoning behind that?

There are many, many situations where one party would sign first and wait for the other to either sign or strike thigs they don't like.