Q: How could I back out of a house purchasing contract due to the impending housing market downturn due to COVID19?
A:
Retain counsel to review the contract to determine your rights and your risks. They are not all the same. Often, you can simply abandon your deposit, but sometimes, they can sue you for the difference between what you agreed and whatever they sell it for plus all of their added expenses.
How do you know the real estate market will crash after Covid-19 is over?
A: Your potential remedies are written in the contract. It depends on the available contingencies, and whether they have expired, and what may constitute a default. However, a change in the market after a contract becomes specifically enforceable is rarely grounds to back out. But this is America, and you are always free to breach a promise and pay the consequences. We have had clients willingly back out of valid and enforceable contracts on negotiated terms, or on acceptance by the other side of the deposit as a penalty.
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.
