Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Re: Lease w/ option to purchase

What are your damages?

This is a question for an attorney in Illinois, but you have been inconvenienced, not damaged per se.

In WA, this would be called an anticipatory breach. The contract was never performed, it was still executory. Although you apparently had reached an agreement, the owner changed his mind and breached.

Sounds as though he would claim it was an efficient breach - in other words, that it would cost him less to deal with you than to pass up an opportunity to sell the place.

And the same is likely true for you. It is going to cost you less to move on and find another place than you stand to gain by insisting on performance from a person who clearly no longer wants to be in this contractual relationship.

If you don't get your money back promptly, you can certainly sue him to get it back.

Technically speaking there may be a remedy available to you, but the amount is going to be miniscule and the effort enormous to get there.

Anytime a potential client tells me that they want to litigate for a principle I am not going to take them on. Principles are insanely expensive and the law cannot force somebody to act well, the law can only make them pay money when they act badly.

Here, your potential remedy is not nearly enough to warrant litigation.

But that's just my take and another attorney may see it differently. Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell

Re: Lease w/ option to purchase

It seems to me that you could file your lease contract in the chain of title and then litigate who has the right to the property. If you would like to pay my child's college tuition, contact me!