Squeeze Play by Buyer

[dennisbell]

Massachusetts: I am a realtor(Broker A). My seller accepted an offer of $210,500 on his home (House A) from a buyer who was presented by another brokerage (Sub-Broker A) . The offer was subject to a home inspection and mortgage contingency. The buyer was approved for the loan, the appraisal has been done, but the Purchase & Sale has not been signed as of yet. The buyer's plan was to rehab the house and resell it which all were made aware of.

In the meanwhile, the SELLER found a home to buy (House B) whereby the offer was accepted, also subject to a home inspection and mortgage contingency, plus subject to him selling his home (House A).

On the day before the inspection date deadline, Buyer decided to conduct his own home inspection although he has no credentials. After his "inspection" he has stated that, upon his findings, he now wants to reduce his offer by $21,500 to $189,000. Seller, not to lose the deal, agreed only to a $10,000 reduction which was not accepted. Buye wants out of the deal. Seller is now unable to buy House B because he needs the funds from House A. Buyer was well aware that the house need lots of work and based his offer on that. My opinion is that he's trying to "stick" the Seller for all the work that he wants to do, or just has buyer's remorse.

Question: Is the buyer obligated to buy House A? Does he forfeit his earnest deposit of $500 since he did not have a professional home inspection done within the required date?
What is the Seller's recourse since he will probably lose out on House B. What role do I play, since I am the listing broker?

 

[JETX]

"Is the buyer obligated to buy House A?"
*** What, if anything, does the purchase agreement say as to the qualifications of the buyers inspector??

"Does he forfeit his earnest deposit of $500 since he did not have a professional home inspection done within the required date?"
*** Again, that depends on the specific conditions of the agreement.

"What is the Seller's recourse since he will probably lose out on House B. What role do I play, since I am the listing broker?"
*** If you failed to provide a 'qualified' contract (stipulated inspector, etc.), then you could have some liability.

In summary, no one can answer your questions with total accuracy since we are NOT privy to the exact terms of the agreement.

 

[nextwife]

Hmmm. How long after acceptancr did the buyer have for home inspection contingency? Usually that's a "five days after acceptance of offer" type of contingency, so if the buyer walks, no one is really damaged. I've never seen a home inspection contingency that would run up to loan approval.

 

[HomeGuru]

Hmmm. How long after acceptancr did the buyer have for home inspection contingency? Usually that's a "five days after acceptance of offer" type of contingency, so if the buyer walks, no one is really damaged. I've never seen a home inspection contingency that would run up to loan approval.

**A: it does not matter in this case since the buyer did get the home inspection done within the contract contingency date.

 

[JETX]

"it does not matter in this case since the buyer did get the home inspection done within the contract contingency date."
*** With all due respect to HG, I believe it DOES matter.
The reason is that the buyer did his OWN inspection ("Buyer decided to conduct his own home inspection although he has no credentials") and came up with his OWN list of 'problems'.

This is NOT a 'true inspection' and was very likely done solely to create an excuse to renegotiate the deal after the fact.

 

[HomeGuru]

"it does not matter in this case since the buyer did get the home inspection done within the contract contingency date."
*** With all due respect to HG, I believe it DOES matter.
The reason is that the buyer did his OWN inspection ("Buyer decided to conduct his own home inspection although he has no credentials") and came up with his OWN list of 'problems'.


**A: I understand your point JETX, but the fact of the matter is, the writer did not state that the home contingency clause specifcally stated that the home inspection was to be completed by a professional ( ie. licensed, certified, insured, etc.) home inspector. And you have raised a good question as to the inspector's qualifications, if any, was stated in the contract. A question thatthe writer has yet to respond to.
*******
This is NOT a 'true inspection' and was very likely done solely to create an excuse to renegotiate the deal after the fact.

**A: it very well may be the case, but what constitutes a TRUE inspection? A true inspection or a professional inspection completed by a licensed/certified professional home inspector following ASHI/NAHI standards would be. But for purposes of discussing this specific thread, if the contract is not specific and the inspection contingency clause just stated that a home inspection must be completed by a specifc date, then the inspection completed by the Buyer would qualify as a "true" inspection.

 

[JETX]

Ahhh, but we are all making assumptions on this.... and I will further assume that if this issue were being heard by an impartial 'tryer of fact' that the 'buyers inspection' would be viewed for what it is.... a clear attempt to redo the 'deal'.

 

[HomeGuru]

Ahhh, but we are all making assumptions on this.... and I will further assume that if this issue were being heard by an impartial 'tryer of fact' that the 'buyers inspection' would be viewed for what it is.... a clear attempt to redo the 'deal'.

**A: you very well may be correct but the trier of fact must go by the evidence and what was agreed to in the contract. Now let's wait for the writer to clarify before proceeding further. I do appreciate your tenacity and opinion. Keep it up.