Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Michigan
Pokey buyer causing problems for seller's moving plans
6 or 7 weeks ago, we accepted an offer on our home, and a closing was set for 3 1/2 weeks ago. That ''didn't work out'' and we've been promised every day that it was going to happen 2 or 3 days later. What we are being told is that the buyer is having trouble with FHA requirements on the home they are selling, or that their Realtor messed up the closing for that home. Their offer for our home was NOT contingent on the sale of theirs, we were told their home was sold, and their financing was approved. Why might all this flexible baloney be going on? Would we be within our rights to refuse the sale or change the terms? I'd like to refuse to pay the $2000 toward closing costs they requested in their offer. We are moving to another state in TEN DAYS and cannot determine possesion of the house we are buying there until this is settled. I'm not interested in camping under the moving van untill these people get things under control, so I feel like there should be a penalty for the delay. None of this was writted in the contract. Do I have any rights whatsoever?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Pokey buyer causing problems for seller's moving plans
Yes, it appears they are in breach of the purchase agreement. You have a number of options ranging from cancelation of the contract and retaining the earnest money to using this breach as a negotiating tactic. For more info please call (248)851-3171.
Re: Pokey buyer causing problems for seller's moving plans
There is a long-standing, well-settled concept in Anglo-American jurisprudence, dating back to medieval England, called the Statute of Frauds. Such a statute tells us which contracts must be in writing.
Michigan has a Statute of Frauds which states that all contracts for the purchase and sale of any interest in real property must be in writing. The terms of the written contract can be enforced strictly by the parties.
Based on the facts that you laid out, you have no contract at this point. The buyers could argue that you have waived some of your rights to prompt performance due to acceptance of previous delays. However, that argument rarely holds water in situations like yours.
You should seriously question the effectiveness of whatever representation you may may have had thus far. If you have a licensed broker working for you, he or she has a fiduciary duty to you, which means that the broker must put your interest ahead of his or her own. The broker has the duty to explain the process to you and to help you to interpret your position.
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