Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey

Re: commericial realestate transaction

Normally you can't just back out but there may be ways to get out of the deal depending on the language in the contract. It is best that the buyer not become aware of the fact that you want out until you and your lawyer develop a strategy. There is also no guarantee that there is a way out. The purpose of a "due diligence" period is primarily so that the buyer can justify spending the large amounts necessary to fully investigate a commercial realty purchase while being sure that the land will be there if the rest of the arrangements look good. So, if the buyer's lawyer has done his job well, you may be stuck. The only way to know for sure is to let a lawyer read the contract and understand the circumstances.

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Re: commericial realestate transaction

why are you not asking your attorney this question? And if you can not get an answer from your attorney, fire him/her and get an attorney who will answer.

it will depend on the wording of the contract. typically, buyers can back out for any reason or no reason; sellers can not. this is not necessarily the situation for you. get a lawyer to advise you.

Re: commericial realestate transaction

Without seeing the Contract of Sale, this response will be generic. If you are out of attorney review, you must comply with the provisions of the Contract, which may allow some time for due dilligence and may also have certain contingencies that must be met, like environmental matters, zoning review and the like. Sometimes these reviews take longer than normal and may delay a matter. For example, I am involved with a client (seller) that has already been requested to grant 2 extensions to get zoning approval, as the community is involved with litigation (not involving our property) which has backed up the ability to go before the zoning board. Since time periods have not been met, my client could back out of the deal. But, since the buyer is the only game in town, and any replacement buyer would have the same time delays, he is sticking with the original buyer. There are many factors to be considered and the Contract terms should give you some guidance. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship. Omitted or missing facts could change the reply.

Re: commericial realestate transaction

Since the very purpose of a contract is to bind parties to certain obligations, contracts wouldn't serve the central role in business and commerce that they do if one party or the pther could cancel the contract just becase he changed his mind.

Even though the general rule is that contracts can't be cancelled by one side acting on its own, the parties are always free to mutually agree to cancel a contract. A Seller must be careful if a buyer proposes mutual cancellation because that might put yo in breach of contract with his realtor if one is involved. Also, you don't want a buyer to just stop work, leaving your property torn up and in need of cleanup.

Of course, as the other attorneys have noted, the contract would in most cases answer your question. However, if you have sold to a professional developer, they have very likely included clauses forbidding you from cancelling except under very narrow circumstances. This is because the studies and testing that must be done to determine the suitability of the property (often referred to as "Due Dilgence") can cost tens of thousands of dollar so they try to box the seller in fairly tightly in the contract so that he can't pull the rug out from under them. In exchange for giving up the right to market the property for a period of anywhere between 18 months to 3-4 years, a seller should insist upon receiving non-refundable payments from the buyer at various stages of the of the progress f the contract. These are nothing more than payments for an option - which is a legal right but not an obligation to buy your property within a certain time frame.