We were going to purchase a home soon, but the appraisers kept canceling. During this time, we discovered that the house doesn’t have functioning heat, which was missed during inspection. The owners moved out two years ago, and we’re concerned about potential pipe issues due to low temperatures. We’ve notified the sellers, but they have been unresponsive. Now we want to back out, especially since a better house is available on the same street. We’re worried about breach of contract. The ‘close by’ date is today, so does that mean the contract is expired? We also have an inspection contingency. Are we safe?
You hired a bad inspector. Unless you have an open loan/appraisal contingency, you can’t blame the sellers. If they knew about the heater and didn’t disclose it, that changes things. Send an email to the sellers notifying them you want to cancel. They might sue you for performance, but in residential sales, it’s rare for a judge to force someone to buy an uninhabitable home.
Our inspector is amazing! The furnace issue couldn’t be caught without extended heat; it works until the hot water heats up and then turns off. We’re unsure if the sellers knew about it, but we informed them for weeks with no action.
If you don’t close on time, you’re at fault. You can blame others, but the contract is in your name. If you’re waiting on an appraisal, most mortgages require a permanent heat source. If you have a financing contingency, that could let you back out.
Thanks! The inspection clause should help us back out if the contract expiring doesn’t. Appreciate the advice!
No, the contract doesn’t just expire if you don’t close. The seller could sue for specific performance or damages. Check if you removed your inspection contingency; if not, you might still have it.
With the inspection contingency still in place and no end date, we can argue that the inspection was unsatisfactory and use that clause. Thanks for the clarification!