Buyers rights if deal falls through, Sellers fault

[jeff70]

State, Mississippi

Problem, Two hours before closing on property purchase, we found out that the seller had a lien by the IRS on the property he was selling.

We (buyer) agreed and payed for an appraisal and property survey prior to the finding out about the lien, now we may loose this expense, if he can not sell due to his unannounced problem.

Question, Should the seller be legally responsible to return our expenses?
We had no idea of his issue with the IRS.


Thanks, Jeff

[BradleyS]

RE Broker in Kansas:

I hope you didn't have a RE Agent.

You should always check the title policy before you do any inspections. The title policy will show any liens or clouds that may exist.

But don't think your alone.....this has happened to me and one of my buyers. We found out that they owed 10K more than what they were selling the house for....my buyer had over 700.00 in inspections, appraisals, etc.

The seller didn't care about our expenses and instead of going to court/mediation...I called the appraiser and inspectors and negotiated a reduced price, telling them we would make sure we would use them on the next purchase. My buyer only lost 200.00. And it was acceptable to him.

But I can guarantee you that I will never make that mistake again.

I keep bugging the title company and usually I can receive the committment in less than 10 days.

So....if this house doesn't work out.....make sure you get the titlework done first......then proceed with the inspections.

If you are using a real estate agent, make sure you tell them.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by jeff70

State, Mississippi

Problem, Two hours before closing on property purchase, we found out that the seller had a lien by the IRS on the property he was selling.

We (buyer) agreed and payed for an appraisal and property survey prior to the finding out about the lien, now we may loose this expense, if he can not sell due to his unannounced problem.

Question, Should the seller be legally responsible to return our expenses?
We had no idea of his issue with the IRS.


Thanks, Jeff

**A: 2 hours? You should have reviewed the title report soon after your offer to purchase was made.

[jeff70]

Thanks guys,
We (my wife and I) did have a real estate agent, that recommended the land survey!
I work out of the country and was relying on my real estate agent to handle everything, now it looks as if I may be out of around $1,625.00.
($1,275.00 property survey & $350.00 appraisal)

The title search was the last thing we received before the signing was to take place, I only had a short time in town and wanted to rap everything up.

We might still be able to purchase the property, if the seller can work things out with the IRS.

If the owner can't get this property cleared from the IRS, he ends up with his property staked off with metal rods and marked with orange ribbon from the survey that I payed for.

It just seems this is wrong, to have someone else pay for something that will profit or benifit someone at fault?

Thanks again, Jeff

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by jeff70

Thanks guys,
We (my wife and I) did have a real estate agent, that recommended the land survey!
I work out of the country and was relying on my real estate agent to handle everything, now it looks as if I may be out of around $1,625.00.
($1,275.00 property survey & $350.00 appraisal)

The title search was the last thing we received before the signing was to take place, I only had a short time in town and wanted to rap everything up.

We might still be able to purchase the property, if the seller can work things out with the IRS.

If the owner can't get this property cleared from the IRS, he ends up with his property staked off with metal rods and marked with orange ribbon from the survey that I payed for.

It just seems this is wrong, to have someone else pay for something that will profit or benifit someone at fault?

Thanks again, Jeff

**A: why can't the IRS lien be paid off at time of closing?

[jeff70]

Originally Posted by HomeGuru

**A: why can't the IRS lien be paid off at time of closing?

I'm not sure what all is going on with the seller and the IRS, he owns and runs a company and I think the IRS has a lien on all his assets.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by jeff70

I'm not sure what all is going on with the seller and the IRS, he owns and runs a company and I think the IRS has a lien on all his assets.

**A: if the amount of the lien is a whole lot more than the Seller's equity, you've got major problems. You are going to need the IRS to release the lien for partial payment.

[BradleyS]

RE Broker in Kansas:

I assume that a copy of the title work went to you and a copy went to your real estate agent.

I have to get after my agents about reading the report thoroughly. If an agent is acting as a exclusive or designated agent, they should have been aware of the problem and informed you. But, if they received the title work a few days before closing as you did.....then I would definitely call the title company and complain about their response time and maybe they might refund your closing fee.