Under contract w/ 2 year closing, owner wants to close early

[Joey Wharton]

Fellow BP members,

Looking to get some advice on what to do on a townhouse I am currently residing in and under contract with closing scheduled for Sept 2016. A separate lease agreement covers rental portion during the 2 year contract period. 

Owner needs to close/sell now. She knows the contract is solid and can't get me out of it, but circumstances in her life changed and she now needs to cash out on this unit. On top of that the market has changed drastically and the property has risen in value 10% in the past 6 months. Properties are going for higher than asking and many are going under contract and have multiple offers the day of listing. There is no mortgage on it.

For some reason she had the contract written to my favor. $5000 earnest, but $0 deposit for the lease. She covers any damages on the property during lease period. I currently lease at $995, but market rent is $1400-$1500.

Purchase price: $139k

Current market value $152 - $156k 

My plan was to close on it at the end of the contract assuming value would be $165 - $170k next year. As she needs to sell now, I was thinking to go ahead and walk if I get my $5000 earnest money back. 

I bought a 5 unit building I would actually prefer to live in one of those units. 

Any ideas?

[Rocky V.]

Contract is in your favor.  If she is wanting to close earlier ask for a reduction in selling price or if you are no longer interested get your $5K back in order to terminate contract.