Land Contract Nightmare

[melic12304]

What is the name of your state?Hi.Sorry in advance for the long post.
My husband and I live in NY state and in October 2002,signed a land contract for a duplex.(We had been renting one side of it for about 5 months before entering the land contract)
This contract does not expire until October 2007(at which time the rest of the balance is due or according to the contract,the agreement is void)
We were very stupid and did not have an inspection and the seller did not either.
Ever since we signed the contract,we have had problems with the house.
First,the roof started to leak in every room on the second floor( we were told verbally the roof was fixed and we did not have any problems until spring 2003)
Then we found out in late 2003,that the gas furnace on the unoccupied side of the house did not work.We had 3 electricians come out to give us an estimate for electric heat,but 2 of the 3 refused to do the work because electric on both sides was not up to code(again we were told that our side was totally redone before we moved in.)
The worst has been that since spring 2003, there has been a big water problem in the basement.When it rains,we get at least 2" of water.If it pours,or if snow melts(like we are experiencing now) we get 6" of water and have to run the sump pump for hours.This also did not happen when we rented
There are other problems that weren't disclosed(my husband had to redo ALL of the new plumbing on our side because it was not done properly),but those are the major issues.
My questions are:
Can the sellers force us to complete this agreement?
The contract does not address what would happen if either party backs out.The only clause in the entire contract(which is less than a page long) is that if we default in payments of taxes,ins,monthly payments etc, that they can pay what we default in,serve us a 30 day notice of their intent to pay,add the amount not paid to the principal balance,then declare the entire amount due.
If we notify them in writing,that we do not intend to complete this contract,are we still liable for taxes,insurance for this year and /or for the length of the contract?
If they do not let us out of the contract and want to hold us liable for payments,should we pursue(and can we since we have waited so long to inform them in writing about the problems with the house) the fact that they did not disclose faults with the house?
There are taxes due at the end of this month for 2005-2006 county.Should I just pay them,even though we have decided we do not want to buy this house?
We will not be able to get a mortgage for a house until this November,so we are a bit afraid of them not letting us rent here until then and having to move twice.Our fault since we were stupid and signed the contract to begin with.
Thanks for any help,
Melissa

Basically, you want out of this contract because the building has not come up to your expectations.

Did you not look at the place at all before you bought it?

If you were standing before a judge, why (he would say) did you break the contract?

Reasons?

[melic12304]

Hi. Yes,we looked at it, we lived in it for 5 months before we signed the land contract.None of the problems were evident(except painted over ceiling tile in one room.Yes,we asked and were told the problem was fixed.Yes,we were stupid and believed them and didn't have problems with the roof until we signed the contract)
We were deceived by the sellers.We know for a fact that they knew about the electrical problems and the roof.Old tenants told us this recently.
They have failed to supply us with a survey of the property(which I asked for twice and is stated that they must do so in the contract) and they have failed to provide me with a proper amortization of the interest paid for our income taxes.I also have requested this twice.
When I finally got a copy of the home insurance policy,I found out that we were paying for $30,000 more in coverage than we are required per the contract.
It's not that this house did not meet expectations,so we want out.It is that it was extremely misrepresented.
If it were just little things,we would just grin and bear it,but we believe we were deliberately mislead.

"...Yes,we looked at it, we lived in it for 5 months before we signed the land contract...."

You will have a very difficult time proving you were deceived.

[melic12304]

OK, so what about the actual questions I asked in my original post?
Are you telling me that we just have to pay the bills for this house until 2007,then walk away?(our contract reads that it is only valid PROVIDED the purchase price agreed upon is paid by 10/2007)
There is absolutely nothing in the contract that says there is any penalty for not fulfilling the contract.
We know that if this house even qualifies for an FHA loan(which is doubtful since it needs a roof,updated electric,new grading,siding,parts of the foundation are crumbling,there is mold growing inside the walls,etc)we will not be able to afford to do the renovations.
We were deceived by the sellers because many of the problems were covered up cosmetically.(they had someone come in before we moved in and put up some new drywall,ceiling tiles,new electrical outlets..enough to make the place look updated long enough for us to get suckered into signing a contract.)They KNEW about problems and did not tell us.I could see if these things developed over the time we had posession,but they were preexisting.I have read other posts by buyers that say things weren't disclosed about the house they bought and those buyers are told the seller is at least partly responsible,but you are telling me too bad,so sad.Why? Why is my case different than any other person that found out major defects were not disclosed?
Well anyways,may I please have an answer as to exactly what payments we will be responsible for if we breach the contract now?The deed is not in our name.Breaching the contract will just be giving them back possession of the house.If a purchaser breaks the contract early,what bills are they still responsible for?The entire year's taxes,partial year,other?The seller's are out nothing.They have had over 2 years of on time mortgage payments,their taxes paid,insurance premiums covered,and upkeep for THEIR property paid for by us.They have not had to pay for anything for this house,yet keep ownership.The house's value has not gone down since we signed the contract.So what have they lost?What will they be out if we just cancel the agreement?
What are we legally responsible for if we cancel the agreement and give them back possession?