When the Seller Wants to Cancel a Sale ~ Real Estate Attorney Nancy Chillag, it is “Very, very difficult when you’re a Seller and you Signed a Contract.”
November 13th, 2008
It’s not uncommon for a seller to want to back out of a contract. Menlo Park real estate attorney Nancy Chillag agreed on the causes and cures when I interviewed her on this topic.”Sometimes the seller will put their house on the market; just testing the water” Chillag went on to say “It could sell in two days, then the sellers start looking around for a replacement home” “When they can’t find something they want, they want to back out of the deal.” “Sometimes it’s just that they assumed there will be a lot more houses on the market where they want to live” said Chillag, “But they are in contract to sell their home and literally have no place to go.” I asked her what happens when the sellers change their mind? She says they: “Go to an attorney to get them out of the contract and it doesn’t work that way.” Chillag added, it is “Very, very difficult when you’re a seller and you signed a contract.”
Chillag concurs that “Sellers need to have everything in place prior to entering into a contract and to include a Seller Locating Replacement Property Contingency form. This of course applies to any seller at any price range. This is what risk-management is all about.
Excerpted from the television program Kapowich on Real Estate, 1999 program #7
Short-Sales? Facing a Short-Sale? Trying to Buy a Short-Sale? Sage Advice from Real Estate Expert Duane Gomer
November 13th, 2008Sage Advice from Contractor Mark Garrison of MG Constructors & Engineers Inc. ~ Red Flags when Buying and/or Selling ~ Kapowich on Real Estate program # 146~ Part 1 of 2
November 13th, 2008You can reach Mark Garrison at (408) 842-5599
For more information visit www.MGConstructors.net
hort-Sales & Foreclosures details by Real Estate Attorney Douglas White ~ Program #138
November 13th, 2008Real Estate Attorney Anthony Ventura’s Astute Comments on Common Buyer, Seller & Licensee Mistakes (Program #121)
November 13th, 2008KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE - Sunnyvale, CA 94086 - SiliconValleyBroker.com Video
When I first saw Real Estate Attorney Anthony Ventura, of
Miller, Morton, Caillat & Nevis, it was at a seminar for Brokers
and Managers, sponsored by the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors.
I wondered why he had such astute insight into the activities in and around
real estate transactions. It was weeks later that when I learned he grew up
in the business.
An excerpt from his bio states “Tony represents buyers, sellers, agents,
and brokers in claims arising from breach of contract, failure to disclose,
negligence and breach of fiduciary duties.” Any party to a real estate
transaction can learn from what he has to share, which help you spot
issues that can lead to litigation.
If you or yours can’t avoid litigation,make sure you are on the same side of
the table as this savvy real estate attorney, the other side is a lot more expensive.
Pat Kapowich,
“Negotiating Smooth Transactions Throughout The South
Bay” SiliconValleyBroker.com
Real Estate Attorney/Author Nancy Chillag on “Choosing an Architect for your Project” (You Get What You Pay For)
November 13th, 2008hoosing an architect for your project. I strongly recommend that you interview several architects and/or designers. You can find them by talking to friends and relatives who have done a remodel to see who they used and whether they liked the person. You may also want to find some homes that reflect your tastes and ask those owners who they hired to design the home. Obtain names of architects/designers from the Planning Department for the city where the house is situated. Or if you have a particular address of a house you like, go to the city and look through their old files for the plans. The architect’s phone number will most likely be stamped on the plans that are on file with the city.
Sometimes people choose the least expensive architect they can find. Big mistake! The money you save on a poor or minimal design, you will spend ten times over in construction problems and changes. A client paid an architect only $500 for plans. During construction a post went up in the middle of the dining room. When the owner asked the contractor when the post would be removed, he replied, “It won’t; it’s in the design to hold up the second story.” The owner paid $3,000 in plan revisions and engineering fees and $20,000 to rip out the construction and rebuild the support system, and suffered a three month delay in the project. The morale of the story: You usually get what you pay for!
CHILLAG & ASSOCIATES is an innovative law firm dedicated to finding creative solutions to your unique and challenging legal problems. We pride ourselves in developing winning strategies that recognize the need to be cost-effective and practical. Your needs always come first.
For any homeowner thinking about or starting a remodel, How to Survive a Remodel will guide you through every step and protect you along the way.
Chillag & Associates, PC
Attorneys at Law
418 Willow Road
Menlo Park, California 94025
(650) 321-6796
Another Q&A from San Jose Mercury News: Sellers Want to Keep Buyer’s Large Deposit
November 13th, 2008
Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News, SJMN
Pat Kapowich for SJMN’s Market Wise Column
Q: We are canceling a sale with a “For Sale By Owner” seller who refuses to return our fairly large deposit. The adult children of the convalescent parent are claiming the contingency period has elapsed and therefore they are entitled to the deposit. We used a regular real estate contract and the sellers had a real estate attorney draft a counter-offer, which we all signed. We recently consulted a real estate attorney about canceling the sale and he agreed with the sellers. However, since then, our daughter s real estate agent informed us that we should have received certain disclosures which we don t think we did. Today, we received a form from the seller s escrow company that releases the deposit to the sellers. Now what?
A: Don t sign anything until you have consulted a good residential real estate attorney. It sounds like both attorneys you mentioned are geared toward commercial real estate, where legitimately keeping a buyer s deposit can be the norm, not the exception. It sounds like you did not put pen to paper and remove contingencies based on the seller s mandated and contractual disclosures. These For-Sale-By- Owners and their commercially slanted attorney most likely not only missed how to properly address contingencies but also did not follow the contract s time frames and/or disclosure requirements.
It s also safe to say your contract is an outdated copywritten trade association form, which you received from an inactive agent. For-Sale-By-Owners often leave loopholes large enough to drive a buyer s moving truck through. In all fairness, many sellers agents leave loopholes that are big enough for buyers to successfully retrieve their deposit while the seller s moving van is idling outside.
Call your local residential association of Realtors for their preferred list of real estate attorneys. One well-crafted letter citing the mistakes of the sale so far will more than likely result in the prompt return of your deposit. There is only one exception to this common scenario; these sellers won t get to turn around and demand the lost deposit from their listing agency.
Pat Kapowich, SiliconValleyBroker.com, owns Kapowich Real Estate in Sunnyvale. Send questions to pat@siliconvalleybroker.com.