You struck a great bargain. And now the seller wants to back out of the deal. What do you do? You can try to negotiate a resolution – you can try to figure out what the seller’s real reason is for trying to back out, and address that. Or, you can file suit for Specific Performance – to force the seller to sell. There are many traps for the unwary a buyer needs to be aware of. Did the buyer “tender performance” on or before the closing date? Did the buyer perform all the tasks the contract called for? Timely? Did the seller reserve an escape clause (like the need to find and buy a replacement property before this one was to be sold)? Does the buyer need a few extra days to get the loan in place – and the seller simply refuses to give it? Has a lender delayed in getting a payoff demand to escrow, and now the transaction can’t close?
These are just some of the scenarios we’ve come across in the past. Each one has a different solution – and sometimes that solution is to litigate the demand to close escrow.
