Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

A buyer signed a purchase agreement to purchase an investment property from me. As the buyer wanted to pay 100% cash for the property, I required that proof of funds and pay $2000 in escrow which he provided.

The agreement states the property is sold "as is". There was a due diligence period which came and went without issue.

The requirement also called for my wonderful tenants of 10 years to vacate the property prior to closing. They moved out this past weekend.

Per the purchase agreement, the closing is scheduled for Monday. Today (Friday) I received a call from the buyer's agent. The buyer is experiencing buyer's remorse.

Though he signed a binding purchase agreement to purchase the property for $150K, he feels its only worth $130K. Per his agent, he will not agree to close on Monday unless I reduce the purchase price by $20K.

I refused to drop the price and he is now refusing to close.

I assume since he signed a binding agreement if he does not show up on Monday that I can sue this a-hole... correct?

Will I be able to sue for my loss rental income as well as the purchase price?

Thanks in advance!


Asked on 9/06/13, 2:58 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

You probably should not assume anything about the agreement when it comes to suing the other party, so you need to have a lawyer review the contract and sue if warranted. However, the issue then becomes how much is it worth to pay in fees and expenses to sue? What if word gets out that you sue potential purchasers and that chills the interest? Next time, get more earnest money.

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Answered on 9/06/13, 3:03 pm
Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

Unless you did sometrhingb completely foolish, you had YOUR lawyer review the contract before it was signed and made sure there was a liquidated damages clause that says what you get if he backs out (usually it is keeping the deposit and excludes consequential damages like lost rent). Whatever you put in the contract is your sole remedy. If you decided to save money and not use a lawyer, you made a very expensive mistake. Pay a lawyer now to see how badly you messed up and what the contract allows you to do.

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Answered on 9/06/13, 3:11 pm


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