zekestone said:
If it's within 10 days, then you can cancel without penalty... at least for Condos... Doesn't apply for houses I think.
The only other thing to do (and I have a friend who went through this)... negotiate with the other party. Understand that your friend will probably have to pony up some cash to cover the inconvenience they are causing the other party.
Exactly, and yes, it the cooling off period only applies to condos due to the high pressure sales environment one is in during the deal.
Unless there is a clause that she has to meet in order to cancel the deal, the ONLY way is if the purchaser agrees to cancel the deal. She can talk to them, but odds are that they have already made moving arrangements, possibly sold the place where they are living now, etc etc etc. Put it this way: if you bought a house, would YOU back out of the deal with no re-course? Couple that with the fact that it's in a month's time, I can guarantee the buyers have already either sold the place where they are living now, or used up their last month's rent, or made arrangements to move out. Now if the closing was 6 months away, there may have been a slim chance they would cancel but.....
As for not signing anything at closing, I don't know exactly what the penalties are but 1) a lien will be put on the property 2) The purchaser can enforce the contract I guess by seizure of the property by baliff? 3) The seller WILL be sued for damages which could be a) The moving costs b) relocation/rent/hotel stay until they can move in c) mental anguish d) lost wages etc e) interest on the deposit which should be in escrow (think that's the term) f) if the property value increased from the time the house was sold, to the time the lawsuit is settled, your friend will be on the hook for that increase in value as well. g) legal costs
In other words: she sold the house, now she has to move. EOS. Doesn't matter what her situation is, the buyer doesn't give a rat's ass.
Plus if she damages the house in any way SHE will be responsible for the repairs. The house MUST be turned over in the same condition that it was sold under (so don't let her think that by trashing the place, the new owners won't want it).
Put it this way: if she doesn't close, and the buyers want to, she may as well close the deal because they will win in court and probably end up with the house anyways and your friend won't have anything (cuz the cost of litigation etc will probably eat up the value of the house)
OH, found something else out that might apply: The house may be siezed by the sheriff and your friend could be evicted until the matter is settled in court. At this time she will still have to pay her mortgage etc and keep up the house. After she loses the court case, the property may be sold via "power of sale" to pay the buyer's legal costs and damages. Either way, she's screwed unless THEY agree to void the contract.