Real estate contracts often contain the answers to your real estate questions. In this article, the buyers rejected the seller's response to a request for repairs. The seller claims they never got the fax and assumed the buyer accepted their response. Now, the buyer wants to walk away, but can they walk away? Ilyce Glink and Samuel Tamkin offer some helpful real estate advice to a homebuyer in need.
What are your options when you're selling a home and the buyer puts down earnest money and later delays the closing? Can the seller keep the buyer's earnest money if the buyer has not met his or her contract obligations by delaying closing? Yes, but getting the earnest money requires keeping a good paper trail!
If a home is in two owner's names, either one could sell their half of the home to anyone. But it is unlikely that anyone would want to buy a half of a home. Either owner of the home can bid to purchase the home from the other or the some can be sold to the highest bidder with the proceeds from the sale being split between the owners of the home.
A buyer almost purchased a home but the deal fell through due to fraud. The buyer is still interested in the home but is worried that the home will now go into foreclosure. A lender can't transfer title of a home unless it has good title to the home. If the lender does not have a good title to convey to the buyer, the only way to obtain title is to foreclose on the home.
Some states allow for what is called a "liquidated damages" clause in real estate contracts. If a contact contains a liquidated damages clause, a seller keeps a deposit -- or earnest money -- as his or her only remedy when a purchase falls through. But if the seller has no damages, the earnest money must be returned to the buyer.
When you sign a quit claim deed you give up your rights to ownership in a property. If you're on the mortgage for that property you're still liable for mortgage payments. If you're on a mortgage and someone else agrees to make payments and then doesn't it will affect your credit score.
In a 1031 exchange, a real estate investor purchases a similar investment property to replace another property, and is able to defer any federal income taxes owed. But the IRS has strict timelines for 1031 exchanges and sometimes a 1031 reverse exchange may be a better option though it could be more expensive.
Be careful if a real estate agent promises to find you or your spouse a job in order to secure a home sale. If a real estate agent promises to find you a job, makes the sale and the job falls through or never existed, you may want to complain to the National Association of Realtors. A situation like this could lead to mortgage fraud, if inaccurate income is shown on a mortgage application.
