QUESTION
is a RE contract still valid if the details of financing is not specified on the contract?
Asked on May 20th, 2014 on Real Estate - Florida
More details to this question:
I ( Buyer) am buying a home from a homeowner without the assistance of a realtor. First Mistake! We agreed on a price, agreed on the terms and filled out an as is contract. There is a section related to financing - FHA or conventional with terms of the financing. The only thing in that section I marked was the box that we would be for financing but the details of the type of financing were left blank. He (the owner) now wants to cancel this contract and is stating it is an invalid contract because it wasn't filled out fully. We have done everything we were required to do and want to know what our options are.
1 ANSWER
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Sounds like the Seller’s making a pretty weak argument to get out of the contract. It wouldn’t hurt to hire a lawyer to review the terms of the contract to give you a full legal opinion. Generally, a real estate contract hinges on the Buyer bringing the money and the Seller giving clear title. Now, of course, that’s an oversimplification of the issue. In the contract, there should be a section that deals with what’s a breach and what happens if the Buyer breaches and what happens if the Seller breaches. If the Seller decides not to sell, you may be able seek specific performance (make him sell) or the contract may say you get damages of some sort (money). I would be surprised if not defining what type of financing the Buyer is going to obtain is a valid reason to get out of the contract. What’s important is that you actually get the financing by the date the contract says you have to confirm that you have financing. Without seeing the actual contract, it is unfortunately impossible to say exactly what legal position you are in.
Answered on May 20th, 2014 at 12:42 PM