Seller Walks Away At Closing
REM #F705
By Ilyce R. Glink
Summary: A reader was at the closing to purchase a home when the seller walked away due to a back tax payment. Ilyce gives the buyer advice on how to get her deposit money back and suggests she move on to a new property.
Q: We are buying a home in Texas. The day of the closing, the tax office informed
us of rollback taxes that will be due because the current owners changed the
agricultural exemption on the property.
The title company agreed to hold the tax money out of the seller proceeds for tax time next year. Then, the seller walked from closing. Do we have any legal options as we had already signed our closing papers?
A: If I understand you correctly, the seller walked out of the closing upon
being informed that he wouldn't get all his money.
If that’s the case and the contract did not give the seller the right
to walk from the deal, one legal option that may be available to you is to sue
the seller for specific performance – that is, to live up to the terms
and conditions of the contract he signed.
If you don’t want to do this (and it could be costly), you’ll need
to get back your deposit and move on. For more details and other options, consult
with an attorney who specializes in litigation and can sue the seller to force
him to close or get you damages for your losses due to his failure to close.
NOTE: This column is distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, Illinois, 60022. This column may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from the publisher.
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