HELP--closing on sale this week

[dave in PA]

I am a seller of a home in PA that closes this week. The Agreement of Sale (AOS) is written on the standard PA Association of Realtors form Revised 9/05. Our septic system did not pass so a new one is being installed now although even if the new one is not in by closing it will not prevent our closing the deal as the current system is functioning. Once we knew the septic needed replacement and the Buyer wanted us to deal with it we presented the Buyer with the contractually required Written Corrective Proposal to which per the AOS the Buyer had 5 days to respond to as spelled out in line 338 of AOS. He did not so my read is that since the Buyer chose Option 1 per line 333 he is bound by the provisions of line 184 which says he accepts the property and releases us per line 513. In other words by not responding he accepted our Written Corrective Proposal and is on the hook for his deposit and must close. Because the AOS is so darn confusing, should I ask for a hold harmless or general release at closing to be sure that once the new septic is in we are done with this matter or does what I just stated protect me enough?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[FlyingRon]

Real estate contracts ARE confusing. That's why you should have a lawyer review them and having reviewed it, he's in a good position to tell you what to do now. Not having that specimen contract here, I can't tell you what to do with all those clause numbers. If the work is not completed, I would certainly want some provision in the escrow to make sure funds were held back for it's completion.

[JETX]

Originally Posted by dave in PA

Because the AOS is so darn confusing, should I ask for a hold harmless or general release at closing to be sure that once the new septic is in we are done with this matter or does what I just stated protect me enough?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

FlyingRon is correct.... You need to talk with your realtor or a local attorney about your concerns. They are SPECIFIC to your state and:
1) To my knowledge there are no Pennsylvania attorney's monitoring this forum, and
2) I also don't think that there are any Pennsylvania specific realtors on this forum.

[12345672]

Sample AOS from PA Association of Realtors can be found here:
http://www.parealtor.org/content/form_samples.htm#aos

A/S-R is likely the form but the line numbers don't line up exactly with the OP's post.

dave in PA,
If the wording of your AOS is the same as the online sample, options 1 and 2 may not apply to your situation since the system is being replaced. It does not look like the section on septic systems states what is to happen if the buyer does not respond to the sellers corrective proposal. Your realtor should be able to help you.