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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!!

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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

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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.

I see, thanks Jason!

Okay - Clarification - In regards to offers & counter offers & addendums, they should NEVER be signed by the seller if issued from the Buyer without their signature . That's just asking for trouble.

Yes, the seller will sign documents without the buyers signatures but those documents are ones that are coming from the seller to the buyer. However, any documents coming from the buyer to the seller needs to have the buyers signatures first - otherwise, the buyer could make changes, etc. after the fact once they have the seller's signature.

Hope that clarifies - why would you agree to terms on a counter without the party issuing the counter signature??

Katricia

Couldn't they change it still even if it does have their signature?

Shane--no

Goldmill,

I'm so sorry your agent did not do his job correctly!! He really was inept at counseling you and providing you all your options.

Well, you can keep your fingers crossed that maybe they won't sign and will back out. I'm glad you were able to change the terms with your agent. Technically from a seller's perspective, the seller does not have to agree to do any repair requests from the buyers. The buyers have every right to investigate the property, but the seller does not have to fix every little detail from the buyer. In this crazy California market, the contract is written that the buyers are purchasing the property in it's current condition. If they discover something that they don't like, they can either request the seller to fix or they can back out. If the seller doesn't want to fix, then they have to decide their options- back out or purchase. I hope your agent advised you about your rights!!

No, you don't need a lawyer to be present at the Realtor's office, however, you can request for their broker to be present at any and all meetings.

It's a shame that your agent didn't explain the full details of the listing agreement. Your right, you can cancel the listing agreement, but that needed to be done before any offers were accepted or considered. Once an offer has been signed by you, it's too late to cancel the listing agreement.

Just a note - your not dumb - your agent is for not explaining the details and walking you through the entire process. That's their one and only job and they have failed you!! They should have told you about selling as-is, making an contingent counter offer and getting a termite inspection before accepting offers. Your agent didn't listen to your needs and advise you accordingly.

P.S. Unless you signed a Buyer's Agreement, you do not have to use your current agent to find your replacement home. You can interview and find a better agent that will listen to your needs!!!

Katricia

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If no one signed first.... don't think many agreements would be reached...

It was a silly statement...

"One, two, three, SIGN!"

I always advise my sellers to not accept any offer that is not fully signed and initialed in all places by the buyer. The buyer is making an offer to the seller with certain terms. If the seller agrees to all terms the buyer wants and signs and initials where required it becomes a contract after I execute the contract by dating it.

Many buyer agents always leave out a few of their buyer's initials and/or signitures soas their client has the "last" say in making it a legally binding contact. If the offer is not complete with the required initials and signitures, it is not a complete offer from the buyer.

I don't play those games.

I'd rather get deals done than know I won a game. When there's money to be made my ego gets left at the door.

So a buyer didn't sign or initial something on purpose or accident? Who the heck cares. Find a way to move it along without compromising your client's position. You can always add an expiration clause if you don't want to leave the other party holding the ball.

I suggest you re-evaluate your motives.

Goldmill,

I don't know if you still need any assistance with your problem, but there are attorneys that offer pro bono (free) services to people who may be on limited/fixed incomes.

I don't know where you live, but a google search of California attorneys turned up this link for the central region:

http://www.centralcallegal.org/wedo.html

If they do not service your area, they could probably direct you to a firm local to you that could help. Even if everyone has conducted themselves in a legal manner, it sounds like you need someone to look over all of the paperwork to make sure you are not being railroaded.

Good luck!