Seller backing out

[Craig P.]

All,

I have a deal under contract with a private seller and am scheduled to close in 2 weeks.
Contact price is 80k
After repair value is 175k

I have earnest money in escrow and have a title commitment from my title company.

My seller just notified me he has a higher offer and no longer wishes to sell his property to us as the new offer is 7k higher.

Curious what everyone thinks the best recourse is here when we have a signed purchase agreement, and earnest money in escrow.

[Ned Carey]

I had an agent tell the seller my contract was no good and she should sign his clients offer. My attorney filed a specific Performance lawsuit. It was only a couple hundred bucks. It stopped them dead in their tracks and saved a 60K+ profit for me and my partner.

Of course it depends on the deal. I had worked on this deal for almost a year and had negotiated great terms with both the lender and the tax lien holder. I wasn't about to let this one go. However sometimes it's best to just move on to the next deal.

Another option is to record your contract or a memorandum of contract. I have also used the memorandum to keep a deal from unraveling. Once I notified the title company of the memorandum they stopped working on the settlement. I did the memorandum without an attorneys help, however a real estate attorney can advise you which is most appropriate for your state and situation.