Seller is refusing to sell house the day before closing

[Brent Gildner]

Hello fellow BP'ers, My brother and I have been going through the closing process for a few weeks now on our first house. Today was supposed to be the final walk through, and tomorrow was the closing date. Minutes before the final walk through, the seller calls my realtor and said they are refusing to sell us the house because they weren't aware of some of the terms in the contract($3000 concessions payed to us for immediate repairs and $460 home warranty). The seller said their agent did not disclose those terms to them before. So now to the question, what's next? Our realtor suggested we sue the seller and we could get a pretty penny for it. The mortgage was for 153k and the home was appraised at 180k, would we be able to sue for the difference along with what money we have into it? ($5000 EMD, appraisal cost, inspection cost etc..) We already have home insurance and the mortgage and everything, what should be done regarding those? Please help! Our realtor has never heard of this happening so he didn't have too much insight. One last question, does anyone know a good real estate attorney/lawyer in the Royal Oak, MI area we could talk to?

[Andrew Bauer]

You can't just claim you "didn't know" about contract terms in a contract you have signed. 

It would be best to consult with a local attorney for advice. My initial reaction is that I would inform the Seller that failing to close would breach the contract, that you are fully prepared to close and will proceed as if closing will happen as scheduled in the contract, and that if Seller breaches the contract you will have no choice but to exercise your right to seek a remedy.