Q: Days away from closing a house when the power of attorney was questioned. can’t be sold. Sue for appraisal/inspection $?
they want us to sign a termination of the p and a to get out earnest money back. It says we won’t hold the broker or licensee liable. Should we sign or not? We just want the $1600 we paid on a house that couldn’t be sold in the first place
A: From your question, it appears you are a buyer who was ready, willing, and able to close, but your seller ran into a problem with his/her/its power of attorney (which apparently can’t be cured), and that problem is preventing the seller from conveying title to the property to you under the purchase and sale agreement (“P&S”). This would typically be a breach of the P&S, the question now is what are your rights and remedies. Under any P&S I have seen, you will be entitled to get your earnest money back, but whether you can also force the seller to reimburse you for your appraisal and inspection costs ($1,600) will depend on the terms of the P&S. You should ask your broker for his or her advice on this and you may want to consult an attorney to review the terms of the P&S. Whatever you do, however, you don’t want to agree to terminate the P&S before you have sorted out whether the seller will agree to reimburse you, because terminating the P&S will likely significantly limit, if not eliminate, some of your available rights and remedies. At this point, you can approach the seller and offer to terminate the P&S if the seller will agree that your earnest money deposit will be promptly refunded and that the seller will reimburse you for your appraisal and inspection costs.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
