Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: breach of real estate purchase agreement contract

Whether you have a cause of action depends on a number of factors which require reviewing the purchase agreement. There may be a liquidated damages clause, a binding arbitration clause and mediation requirement, so you may not be able to litigate before a jury in the court system. In most cases, once an offer has been accepted, if the buyer is able to lift the contingencies, you have a binding contract.

Deborah Barron, Esq.

1750 Montgomery St.

San Francisco, CA 94111

Re: breach of real esate purchase agreement contract

You can take action to try to oblige the seller to go through with the transaction. This does not necessarily mean you will succeed, but you might......

If the purchase agreement has an arbitration clause (or a mediation clause), these must be honored. If you agreed to arbitrate disputes, then demand arbitration; an arbitrator has the power to require specific performance of the agreement, just as would a judge.

If there is no arbitration or mediation clause, your case begins in court.

Specific performance - an order requiring the seller to sell to the buyer - is a proper remedy where real property is at issue. However, you need to examine the purchase agreement for possible defenses by the seller before assuming you'll win. Among possible defenses are that you, the buyer, were not ready and willing to close at the agreed time, or that some contingency, such as reasonable seller approval of carry-back financing, was not removed.

Re: breach of real esate purchase agreement contract

Yes, if the agreement was fully documented. You might want to consider the probable further decline in property values before spending time and money trying to force a sale at the contract price, when you will likely be able to buy a similar place for less in a year or so when the case comes to trial. But, it you're serious about pursuing this, because the price was a great bargain, feel free to contact me to discuss your rights and remedies.