Can a seller renege on a sighned contracted house sale?
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Can a seller renege on a sighned contracted house sale?
My brother squatted in my home for many years. I
allowed it because I felt bad for him. Now he’s back
on his feet, destroyed my home and wants to buy it
at the price it’s worth less the amount it will cost
to fix what he’s done to it. He and his new wife
have threatened me. They borrowed money from our dad
for tearing down trees and repairs and did such
repairs and said, you owe dad 17,000. He undercut
the worth with his agent ex father inlaw. I am now
selling at a loss, and owe dad 17,000.00 Can I get
out of this sale?
Asked on February 11, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
If you agreed to sell it to him, you are obligated to go through with the sale unless;
1) He threated you with violence or criminal activity to make you agree to the contract.
2) He lied about something critical to get you to sign the agreement (committerd fraud).
3) After signing, he violates his own obligations under the contract, such as by not paying a deposit when he should.
4) The contract has some cancellation clause that lets you out of it, and you comply with the clause's requirements.
Otherwise, regardless of his pre-contract behavior or whether you should have entered into the contract or will take a loss on it, you are obligated to the contract and must go through with it.
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