Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: How to stop an escrow

The buyers can sue for specific performance and likely win. You may wish just to speak with them and discuss the matter. You also have time to take the money from this home and invest it in another. Call to discuss. 800-685-6950

Re: How to stop an escrow

Not enough information. A later discovered personal tax problem would not usually be a defense to the typical escrow. The agreement would have to be reviewed to offer an opinion. You can e-mail me at [email protected].

Re: How to stop an escrow

It is possible some thing can be done. Please call me at(818) 991-6664 with further information in order for us to properly advise you.

Thank you for your inquiry.

Re: How to stop an escrow

I think your question is not so much about stopping an escrow as it is about halting the sale of the subject property.

Remember that you are in a contract with the buyer, and the buyer could sue for money damages or for a court order obliging you to go through with the sale (specific performance).

Escrows are terminated short of closing all the time, probably most frequently because the buyer fails to get financing. Other buyer-related reasons are also common.

You may be lucky enough to have a buyer who also wants to, or must, get out of the deal. Possibly your buyer has developed cold feet, or can't get financing, or something, and a mutual rescission of the purchase agreement may be negotiated.

More likely, however, the buyer will be disappointed and angry if you back out of the sale, and a lawsuit (or demand for arbitration if the contract calls for it) will quickly follow.

If you are represented by a broker, you should confer with him or her on the buyer's position and likely consequences of a proposed breach of the purchase agreement. In any event, you are very likely to need a lawyer, so get local legal advice sooner rather than later.

Another possibility if you are just a few months away from turning a short-term gain into a long-term gain with lower tax rate is to negotiate a short-term lease with the buyers, with the sale to occur after the end of the long-term holding period.