I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date. The seller took a while to set the date but since
all papers were filled out etc. we packed up our house. Today we were
finally going to recieve the closing date but when we got the phone
call, the realtor told our realtor that they had recieved a higher
offer and because the realtor did not sign one of the papers, our
contract is null and tanother family is now buying the house....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!

In article .com,
says...
I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date. The seller took a while to set the date but since
all papers were filled out etc. we packed up our house. Today we were
finally going to recieve the closing date but when we got the phone
call, the realtor told our realtor that they had recieved a higher
offer and because the realtor did not sign one of the papers, our
contract is null and tanother family is now buying the house....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!

Do you have a lawyer?

--
Keith

On 11 Apr 2006 11:46:03 -0700, wrote:
I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date. The seller took a while to set the date but since
all papers were filled out etc. we packed up our house. Today we were
finally going to recieve the closing date but when we got the phone
call, the realtor told our realtor that they had recieved a higher
offer and because the realtor did not sign one of the papers, our
contract is null and tanother family is now buying the house....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!


Why are you asking random strangers on USENET, when you should
be calling your lawyer, instead?

- Rich

Can you make a higher offer? Did they ask you to do so?

Do you have a copy of the contract signed by both parties? If yes, get a
lawyer.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date. The seller took a while to set the date but since
all papers were filled out etc. we packed up our house. Today we were
finally going to recieve the closing date but when we got the phone
call, the realtor told our realtor that they had recieved a higher
offer and because the realtor did not sign one of the papers, our
contract is null and tanother family is now buying the house....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!

I have contacted my lawyer and am waiting for a response, I thought I
could get some general advice while I waiting to hear back from my
lawyer...thanks for the rude comment Rich!

user wrote:
On 11 Apr 2006 11:46:03 -0700, wrote:
I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date. The seller took a while to set the date but since
all papers were filled out etc. we packed up our house. Today we were
finally going to recieve the closing date but when we got the phone
call, the realtor told our realtor that they had recieved a higher
offer and because the realtor did not sign one of the papers, our
contract is null and tanother family is now buying the house....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!


Why are you asking random strangers on USENET, when you should
be calling your lawyer, instead?

- Rich

I have called my lawyer and am waiting for his call. I was just
wondering what all of you knew!

They did not give us the option to make a higher offer which is odd,
plus we agreed on a price and went through with the paperwork

"Heather" wrote in message
They did not give us the option to make a higher offer which is odd,
plus we agreed on a price and went through with the paperwork


In my opinion, this is not right. The seller should certainly get the best
price too, however once they have accepted an offer, they should keep to
their word.

Might want to call the real estate person and ask if you can make a higher
offer. (If you really want the house.) But I would want to see the signed
offer the other buy gave them. (To be sure they are not just making up a
story to get more money out of you.)

If the house is not worth making a higher offer, be sure you can back out of
the deal. The other offer can fall through, then suddenly they may come back
and try to hold you to your original offer! Any by then you may have made an
offer on another house.

Someone told me to always make an offer so you can back out later for any
reason. There is no love in business. Protect yourself.

Ask lawyer about all this stuff. Good luck!

On 11 Apr 2006 13:03:38 -0700, Heather wrote:
I have contacted my lawyer and am waiting for a response, I thought I
could get some general advice while I waiting to hear back from my
lawyer...thanks for the rude comment Rich!


None of us have seen the contract.

None of us have seen any of the other paperwork.

None of us have been party to discussions with the realtors and sellers.

So, I ask again... what, exactly, do you think random strangers
on USENET could *possibly* say, other than "call your lawyer"? I am honestly
curious, since "My real estate deal has fallen through" is probably
one of the top 10 questions on m.c.h, and the advice has always, always
been the same - "Call your lawyer."

- Rich

writes:
I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date. The seller took a while to set the date but since
all papers were filled out etc. we packed up our house. Today we were
finally going to recieve the closing date but when we got the phone
call, the realtor told our realtor that they had recieved a higher
offer and because the realtor did not sign one of the papers, our
contract is null and tanother family is now buying the house....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!

The correct answer to this question is: "It depends."

Unfortunately it depends on a ton of bits of information that we semi
anonymous usenet pals aren't privvy to. The specific contract (there
are at least as many "standard" contracts out there as there are local
markets). Which paper your realtor apparently failed to sign. What
words were on that paper. The state the property is located in, where
you were withing inspection and attorney approval windows, whether
the sellers held up their notification obligations in the contract
they signed, etc. etc.

The only thing that is pretty clear--your buyer's agent isn't all that
on top of things if they let the listing agent slow-play your offer
like this and use it as a means to lure another party into the fray.
Maybe the sellers didn't like y'all for whatever reason. Maybe you had
a home sale contingency attached to your offer, maybe they weren't
confident of your ability to qualify for the loan, maybe they just
wanted some sort of offer to try to extract the biggest $ from buyers,
who knows.

Your lawyer will tell ya that if you have a properly signed and
executed contract and all things are within timelines specified in
that contract, the sellers may be obligated to sell to you for the
agreed upon price. But evne then I wouldn't expect them to be
terribly cooperative with the rest of the process (inspection, repairs
of findings upon inspection) if they have a higher offer waiting, and
hoping for your contract to fall apart.

Best case, you're in a bidding war situation. It's gut check time to
determine how much you like this property and what you're willing to
pay.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

wrote in message
oups.com...
I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date.

Hmmmm.....when we put a bid on the homes we wanted to buy, we set the
closing date as part of the contract (it was one of the contingencies on the
offer). What did your real estate agent say about his./her error?

You don't understand the need for people to talk to other people when
they are dealing with a problem. I am getting lots of advice from other
nice people and I have spoken with my lawyer. You have nothing nice to
say so leave me alone while I work through my problem. Don't you have
anything else to do with yourself than try to insult other people?
user wrote:
On 11 Apr 2006 13:03:38 -0700, Heather wrote:
I have contacted my lawyer and am waiting for a response, I thought I
could get some general advice while I waiting to hear back from my
lawyer...thanks for the rude comment Rich!


None of us have seen the contract.

None of us have seen any of the other paperwork.

None of us have been party to discussions with the realtors and sellers.

So, I ask again... what, exactly, do you think random strangers
on USENET could *possibly* say, other than "call your lawyer"? I am honestly
curious, since "My real estate deal has fallen through" is probably
one of the top 10 questions on m.c.h, and the advice has always, always
been the same - "Call your lawyer."

- Rich

On 11 Apr 2006 17:25:53 -0700, Heather wrote:
You don't understand the need for people to talk to other people when
they are dealing with a problem. I am getting lots of advice from other
nice people and I have spoken with my lawyer. You have nothing nice to
say so leave me alone while I work through my problem. Don't you have
anything else to do with yourself than try to insult other people?

You didn't answer any of the questions.

The other people are all telling you to ask a lawyer. Did
you expect something more than that?

- Rich

wrote in message
oups.com...
.....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!

I'm not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. And my last closing was in
1999. I speak as someone who has been party to several closings, and not
one has gone smoothly. So here goes....

Local laws and customs come into play here. In the Chicago area, this would
probably never fly. If they deposited the check, chances are they're on the
hook, but you'd have to sue them to force the sale. I have a friend (in
Chicago) who was in this situation. He hired a lawyer who threatened to sue
the seller. The seller would have lost (in more ways than one) and so
decided to honor the original sales contract. But there's a lot we don't
know about your situation, especially since you only mention one payment...
more on this shortly.

I don't know if having a closing date TBD is a deal breaker. No Realtor in
Chicago would present a contract without a closing date specified. Its part
of the negotiation, and until its settled, you don't really have a contract.
A closing date can be changed, but it does need to be specified.

Here, a contract is settled in stages. First, all parties say they agree to
the terms, at that point the initial (and usually small) deposit ("earnest
money") is deposited. At this point, the seller is not supposed to be
dealing with other buyers, and you have a valid contract but there are still
several ways to break it. The contract will state that an additional
deposit is to be received by a certain date. There will be a certain number
of days for attorney approval (for both sides), mortgage approval, and home
inspection. You haven't discussed the time frame involved so possibly one
of these factors is at play, which could leave you without recourse. If all
these contingency dates pass, then I'd say you probably have a pretty solid
contract, which means "someone offering me more" is not a valid reason for
breaking the contract.

Again, I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Please let us know
what happens.

SteveO

"Heather" writes:
You don't understand the need for people to talk to other people when
they are dealing with a problem. I am getting lots of advice from other
nice people and I have spoken with my lawyer. You have nothing nice to
say so leave me alone while I work through my problem. Don't you have
anything else to do with yourself than try to insult other people?

Hi Heather,

Welcome to usenet. I notice you're new to usenet newsgroups.

Next I'll say I'm not sure how Rich uses his time. But I suppose Rich
may be implying a distinction between misc.consumers.house (this
group), and alt.support.homebuyer (if it existed).

His advice may have been brusque, but it was accurate, and not out of
character for the group. After all this is USENET. And being
cantankerous and flaming newbies is all part of the fun for some
folks. The key is not to take anything too personally.

Also, there's an old usenet maxim of which you're unaware that tells
people never to give legal advice, and never to give medical advice.
So your question was somewhat needling at that sore spot.

Read more he
http://groups.google.com/support/bin...ge=basics.html



Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

On 11 Apr 2006 22:58:44 -0500, Todd H. wrote:
"Heather" writes:
You don't understand the need for people to talk to other people when
they are dealing with a problem. I am getting lots of advice from other
nice people and I have spoken with my lawyer. You have nothing nice to
say so leave me alone while I work through my problem. Don't you have
anything else to do with yourself than try to insult other people?

Hi Heather,

Welcome to usenet. I notice you're new to usenet newsgroups.

Next I'll say I'm not sure how Rich uses his time. But I suppose Rich
may be implying a distinction between misc.consumers.house (this
group), and alt.support.homebuyer (if it existed).

His advice may have been brusque, but it was accurate, and not out of
character for the group. After all this is USENET. And being
cantankerous and flaming newbies is all part of the fun for some
folks. The key is not to take anything too personally.


Hey... I'm not old enough to be cantankerous!

( Looks in mirror )

Uh, never mind.

- Rich

"Heather" wrote in message

You don't understand the need for people to talk to other people when
they are dealing with a problem...


I'll second that! When I bought my house, I think it was the most stressful
period of my life ever. I don't know how I made it through to closing
without winding up in the nut house...

Todd H. wrote:
"Heather" writes:
You don't understand the need for people to talk to other people when
they are dealing with a problem. I am getting lots of advice from other
nice people and I have spoken with my lawyer. You have nothing nice to
say so leave me alone while I work through my problem. Don't you have
anything else to do with yourself than try to insult other people?

Hi Heather,

Welcome to usenet. I notice you're new to usenet newsgroups.

I wouldn't assume that a persons posting history has anything to do
with their experience with newsgroups. Many have learned the hard way
that Usenet is full of cyber assholes and thus they make a new account
every now and then. Not talking about you Todd, just saying.
snip

His advice may have been brusque, but it was accurate, and not out of
character for the group. After all this is USENET. And being
cantankerous and flaming newbies is all part of the fun for some
folks. The key is not to take anything too personally.

Flaming newbies sometimes turns them into cyber assholes and we have
enough already!

Also, there's an old usenet maxim of which you're unaware that tells
people never to give legal advice, and never to give medical advice.
So your question was somewhat needling at that sore spot.

Maybe the newbie is a troll? Hmm...

Read more he
http://groups.google.com/support/bin...ge=basics.html

I'm heading there now! I'm a newb.


Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

On 11 Apr 2006 11:46:03 -0700, wrote:

I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date. The seller took a while to set the date but since
all papers were filled out etc. we packed up our house. Today we were
finally going to recieve the closing date but when we got the phone
call, the realtor told our realtor that they had recieved a higher
offer and because the realtor did not sign one of the papers, our
contract is null and tanother family is now buying the house....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!


This is not legal advice but I don't think so because usually the
contract is between the buyer and seller only and realtors are not a
party to the agreement BUT BUT BUT this a GUESS because there are
questions I don't really know the answer to because of your lack of
information.

You already got the BEST advice from others... seek an attorney fast
if you want to buy that house. And if you get your way, don't expect
the seller to be very friendly or cooperative beyond the terms of the
contract. Remember you're dealing with people too.

OP, if you and the seller both signed a contract, the seller
is now trying to break the contract. You have three options:
(1) sue (or at least threaten to sue) to force the seller to
complete the deal as per the contract, (2) demand the seller
pay you $$$ to get out of the contract, or (3) accept the
seller's pretence that there never was a contract and forget
all about it. From what you have said, it appears the seller
hopes you will take option 3.

Una

rob wrote:
On 11 Apr 2006 11:46:03 -0700, wrote:

I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date. The seller took a while to set the date but since
all papers were filled out etc. we packed up our house. Today we were
finally going to recieve the closing date but when we got the phone
call, the realtor told our realtor that they had recieved a higher
offer and because the realtor did not sign one of the papers, our
contract is null and tanother family is now buying the house....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!


This is not legal advice but I don't think so because usually the
contract is between the buyer and seller only and realtors are not a
party to the agreement BUT BUT BUT this a GUESS because there are
questions I don't really know the answer to because of your lack of
information.

You already got the BEST advice from others... seek an attorney fast
if you want to buy that house. And if you get your way, don't expect
the seller to be very friendly or cooperative beyond the terms of the
contract. Remember you're dealing with people too.



I have to say, I don;'t have much sympathy for the OP. As others have
pointed out, there is almost no useful info presented here. The icing
on the cake is that the seller is supposed to be backing out because
despite having a fully executed purchase contract, the real estate
agent didn't sign "some other paper."

Well, excuse me, but if I was in the middle of a sale like this and
someone called me and told me I'm screwed because something wasn;t
signed, I'd know exactly what document wasn't signed and it's
relevance before asking what to do on newsgroups. When they called
me, the first thing I'd say is what the hell are you talking about,
which document, who was supposed to sign it, fax over what you have,
etc.

What you want to do now depends on how much you are out, what the
"other paper" was, and who's fault all this is. If you really want the
house and want to make the seller perform, it's likely a good lawyer
can quickly make it clear to them that if they don't sell it to you ,
he will tie them up so they can't sell it to anyone else without a
court decision. He can threaten to sue the realtor, the seller, the
whole lot of them. And to get that to court could take a year during
which the seller will be stuck.

Another simpler solution is to just accept what they did, get the
deposit back, then sue the seller and realtor in small claims court for
the money you are out for legal fees, mortgage applications,
inspections, etc. And I'd add in the difference in price that they
sold it to the new buyer for, as you can claim the house appreciated
that much and the money should be yours. Depending on the state, the
limit is usually 2k-5k for small claims.

But a lot of this depends on exactly what that form was that was
supposed to be signed and that you provide zippo info about.

The one thing I would never do is what some have suggested and that is
to get into a new bidding war with these skunks. They screwed you
once, why should you now reward them by upping the price and letting
them do it to you again?

Drop the house, drop your realtor, get an attorney to look at any offer
on your next house, and in general, learn from this mess and move on.

On Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:28:30 GMT, user wrote:

On 11 Apr 2006 13:03:38 -0700, Heather wrote:
I have contacted my lawyer and am waiting for a response, I thought I
could get some general advice while I waiting to hear back from my
lawyer...thanks for the rude comment Rich!


None of us have seen the contract.

None of us have seen any of the other paperwork.

None of us have been party to discussions with the realtors and sellers.

So, I ask again... what, exactly, do you think random strangers
on USENET could *possibly* say, other than "call your lawyer"? I am honestly
curious, since "My real estate deal has fallen through" is probably
one of the top 10 questions on m.c.h, and the advice has always, always
been the same - "Call your lawyer."

- Rich

I agree, and in addition, let men handle it.

--
"Teamwork is essential -- it allows you to blame someone else."


4/13/2006 11:48:18 PM

I would imagine that a contract is not valid unless both parties sign it. My friend put his house on
the market and finally got an offer that he felt he should accept. After thinking about it, he never
came down to sign the contract and he never sold his house. That was almost one year ago.

Where did you go wrong? You packed up without getting a closing date. Many deals die at the final
moments, even at the closing.

Tony


On 11 Apr 2006 11:46:03 -0700, wrote:

I recently found a house to buy. We agreed on a purchase price, put
down our money, and signed the contracts...all we had left to do was a
set a closing date. The seller took a while to set the date but since
all papers were filled out etc. we packed up our house. Today we were
finally going to recieve the closing date but when we got the phone
call, the realtor told our realtor that they had recieved a higher
offer and because the realtor did not sign one of the papers, our
contract is null and tanother family is now buying the house....is this
legal? Where did I go wrong. Please help!

On Thu, 13 Apr 2006 23:48:51 -0400, Rocinante
wrote:

On Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:28:30 GMT, user wrote:

On 11 Apr 2006 13:03:38 -0700, Heather wrote:
I have contacted my lawyer and am waiting for a response, I thought I
could get some general advice while I waiting to hear back from my
lawyer...thanks for the rude comment Rich!


None of us have seen the contract.

None of us have seen any of the other paperwork.

None of us have been party to discussions with the realtors and sellers.

So, I ask again... what, exactly, do you think random strangers
on USENET could *possibly* say, other than "call your lawyer"? I am honestly
curious, since "My real estate deal has fallen through" is probably
one of the top 10 questions on m.c.h, and the advice has always, always
been the same - "Call your lawyer."

- Rich

I agree, and in addition, let men handle it.

I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that men created this morass, so
letting men "handle" this situation seems counterproductive to me.

I do agree: get a lawyer. Preferably a woman, to bust the men's
nuts.