Real estate lawyers:Help! How do I get out of this one?

Question

I made a full price offer(minus closing costs) contingency offer(to sell my home first) on a house in what was supposed to be a good area/neighborhood and I am pending a response, but my son and I went back to look at "our beautiful house" at night and we witnessed a drug transaction right in front of the house we wanted to buy. I really don't want to put my child in that kind of environment and this was obviously a bad choice despite all our cautions but if the sellers dont counter over the closing costs, I am obligated to buy or risk getting sued and losing my deposit if my house sells. I am also, I think obligated to have my house on the market for the duration of the contract so what do I do? I thought about telling the listing agent the situation and have her stall on the sale but houses in my area are selling fast. How do I get out of this one?

Answer 1

First of all if you are using a Realtor, they probably included an option period usually 7-10 days. that means you can back out for any reason.

Secondly, you could postpone selling your house, you can just take yours off the market for a while, or jack the price up, just because your house is listed doesn't mean you have to sign the contract to sell it, however it probably would be a good Idea to tell you listing agent your plan, he/she will probably be able to show you an easy way out.

btw if the response is pending, just withdraw your offer. An offer means nothing without an acceptance, and if you withdraw your offer befor the seller accepts, it's not a contract anyway.

Hope this helps ease...

Answer 2

Send your Realtor an E-MAIL IMMEDIATELY and check the e-mail to require a receipt.

That way you have written proof that your Realtor was contacted in writing.  

Anytime you make an offer, if the seller hasn't accepted it yet, you can ALWAYS withdraw the offer.  

However, in your situation, had they accepted your offer, you would not have had grounds to cancel b/c crime records are public records...you need to check these out before you buy.  Most of these are on the internet in each locality.

PS:  I would also get a new Realtor...while in THIS case it worked to your benefit that the offer had not yet been presented to the sellers, you need to ask yourself what took him/her so long.

To JPLUNK...only escrow states use an 'attorney review' period..there are only about 4 escrow states in the USA...so if the OP is not in one of those states, there is no such thing....which would mean the moment the seller accepts, it's binding.