Is there any way a seller can cancel a real estate contract without being sued by the buyer?
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Is there any way a seller can cancel a real estate contract without being sued by the buyer?
Asked on December 25, 2012 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
The only ways that a seller can cancel a real estate contract without penalty would be:
1) If the contract itself included any terms or provisions that allow cancellation under certain circumtances and the seller complies with those requirements.
2) If the buyer materially breaches the contract--violates it in some significant way--such as by not closing on the closing date in the agreement.
3) If it is discovered that the buyer lied about material facts to get the seller to agree to the contract--such as by lying about his/her finances--since that could constitute fraud, and fraud can provide grounds to rescind a contract.
A seller could also approach the buyer about seeing if the buyer will agree to a cancellation, such as if the seller paid some sum of money to the buyer.
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