Appraisal Problems - Scare Tactics is this crazy or what

[PA314]

What is the name of your state? PA

Sorry this may be a little lengthy

My Wife and I are trying to purchase our first home. We put in a bid on a house and they accepted. We signed the contract and it was contingent on inspection and the Mortgage. The inspections were fine and the mortgage was in the process of being approved. Our realtor called us to let us know that the house appraised at 24k less then our offer so the bank will not approve the loan. Like any normal human being who doesn't want to over pay we said we would like to renegotiate so we could get approved. The home owner said that they wanted us to go to a different mortgage company then they said they wanted us to split the difference so we could settle. We could not afford the 12k dollar difference plus our loan officer told us that all banks basically use the same appraisal standard so the house will appraise the same no matter what. We tried to negotiate with the owners and they said they were going to hold out for another offer. We agreed and a few days later signed the papers to get our deposits back. The day after we signed the money release form our realtor called and said now they want to renegotiate. My wife and I have moved on and decided to keep looking for a house (not theirs). Now they are telling us we have to buy this house because according to our buyer statement we have enough money to buy the house at the lower price. They are refusing to give us our money and threatening to press charges. I have been told that since the terms changed that we are not obligated to buy and that the previous contract is now void. I think we called their bluff and now they are using scare tactics to force us to buy. They are making settlement next month so they are really pushing for us to buy but I don’t think that is my problem. My realtor has not been very helpful with this issue. But my loan officer assures me that we are not obligated because the contract terms have changed and no longer apply. Any advise would sure be helpful, are we obligated to buy this house?

[Some Random Guy]

A contract is an agreement between two parties at agreed upon terms. If one of those parties changes the terms, then the contract is no longer valid.

"They are making settlement next month so they are really pushing for us to buy but I don’t think that is my problem" - Are you saying that they are buying a new house next month and therefore want to have this one sold? If so, its really not your problem, but may make them more willing to renegotiate.

What has your realtor done to get your earnest money returned to you? Have them get working on this ASAP as you will probably need the money for the next house you find.

[PA314]

"They are making settlement next month so they are really pushing for us to buy but I don’t think that is my problem" - Are you saying that they are buying a new house next month and therefore want to have this one sold? If so, its really not your problem, but may make them more willing to renegotiate"

Yes, that is correct, but now we have moved on and want to keep looking

"What has your realtor done to get your earnest money returned to you? Have them get working on this ASAP as you will probably need the money for the next house you find."

She contacted the other realtor, but the other realtor was not happy. I don’t think our realtor has our best interest in mind, I think she feels bad for the seller but that is not her problem, and we are her clients. Probably need to find another realtor,Thanks for the Advise

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by PA314

What is the name of your state? PA

Sorry this may be a little lengthy

My Wife and I are trying to purchase our first home. We put in a bid on a house and they accepted. We signed the contract and it was contingent on inspection and the Mortgage. The inspections were fine and the mortgage was in the process of being approved. Our realtor called us to let us know that the house appraised at 24k less then our offer so the bank will not approve the loan. Like any normal human being who doesn't want to over pay we said we would like to renegotiate so we could get approved. The home owner said that they wanted us to go to a different mortgage company then they said they wanted us to split the difference so we could settle. We could not afford the 12k dollar difference plus our loan officer told us that all banks basically use the same appraisal standard so the house will appraise the same no matter what. We tried to negotiate with the owners and they said they were going to hold out for another offer. We agreed and a few days later signed the papers to get our deposits back. The day after we signed the money release form our realtor called and said now they want to renegotiate. My wife and I have moved on and decided to keep looking for a house (not theirs). Now they are telling us we have to buy this house because according to our buyer statement we have enough money to buy the house at the lower price. They are refusing to give us our money and threatening to press charges. I have been told that since the terms changed that we are not obligated to buy and that the previous contract is now void. I think we called their bluff and now they are using scare tactics to force us to buy. They are making settlement next month so they are really pushing for us to buy but I don’t think that is my problem. My realtor has not been very helpful with this issue. But my loan officer assures me that we are not obligated because the contract terms have changed and no longer apply. Any advise would sure be helpful, are we obligated to buy this house?

**A: no you are not provided there is a financing contingency clause in your contract.