seller attempting to rescind on contract

What is the name of your state? State of Washington

Seller is attempting to back out of deal. Says wife is refusing to sign papers (they are going through a divorce) however, I have a signed contract accepting the offer that was made.

Consequently, there is the exact same house in same complex that just got put on the market and is selling for $40K more.

What rights do I have to force this sale?

Suing over this costs money, time and frustration AND you could still lose the house. Instead of spending you money on a lawyer I'd formally accept the cancelation of the contract and walk on down to the other house just like it and make an offer.

[stephenk]

who signed the acceptance of your offer?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by treefon

Suing over this costs money, time and frustration AND you could still lose the house. Instead of spending you money on a lawyer I'd formally accept the cancelation of the contract and walk on down to the other house just like it and make an offer.

**A: not so fast. We do not have all the facts yet. It may be that both husband and wife signed the contract to sell, but now the wife refuses to close. Or the wife may not have even signed the listing contract let alone the contract to sell. And the divorce may not be final but there may be an agreement that the wife live there for say 1-2 years and after that the property would be sold or the husband refinances and buys her out.

how sad that you would give up that easy tree, but that would indicate what you would settle for...clearly this isn't something I'm going to give up on. I don't care how long and how much it takes. I'm clearly in this to win.

Thanks Guru. The offer was accepted and signed by only the husband. In reading the title however, it states "John Doe husband of Betty Sue as his separate estate" Wouldn't this mean that she isn't even on title?
Also the Deed reads "John Doe, a married man, as his sole and separate property"

I'm not sure about the divorce. I will need to obtain a copy of divorce decree and see how the property was to be settled there.

Any other advice Guru would be appreciated

[stephenk]

what does your real estate agent say about the whole mess? is the seller represented by an agent? have you had a title search done on the house yet?

[quote=tryingtobuy]how sad that you would give up that easy tree, but that would indicate what you would settle for...clearly this isn't something I'm going to give up on. I don't care how long and how much it takes. I'm clearly in this to win.[quote=tryingtobuy]


$40,000 isn't that much money and if you end up in court you could rack up close to that in various expenses fighting with this guy. That is why I suggested you just buy the other house. At the time you hadn't informed us that you had the guy by the nads since the deed is clearly in his name only.

The guy will probably cave when your Realtor confronts him with the fact that he is leaving himself open to being sued by you. One suit (the divorce) at a time is all most people could handle. Have fun nailing him to the wall.

[HomeGuru]

[quote=treefon][quote=tryingtobuy]how sad that you would give up that easy tree, but that would indicate what you would settle for...clearly this isn't something I'm going to give up on. I don't care how long and how much it takes. I'm clearly in this to win.

Originally Posted by tryingtobuy

$40,000 isn't that much money and if you end up in court you could rack up close to that in various expenses fighting with this guy. That is why I suggested you just buy the other house. At the time you hadn't informed us that you had the guy by the nads since the deed is clearly in his name only.

The guy will probably cave when your Realtor confronts him with the fact that he is leaving himself open to being sued by you. One suit (the divorce) at a time is all most people could handle. Have fun nailing him to the wall.

**A: you see treebark, this thread is a perfect example of your responding without without first obtaining certain facts by which to respond to.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by tryingtobuy

how sad that you would give up that easy tree, but that would indicate what you would settle for...clearly this isn't something I'm going to give up on. I don't care how long and how much it takes. I'm clearly in this to win.

Thanks Guru. The offer was accepted and signed by only the husband. In reading the title however, it states "John Doe husband of Betty Sue as his separate estate" Wouldn't this mean that she isn't even on title?
Also the Deed reads "John Doe, a married man, as his sole and separate property"

I'm not sure about the divorce. I will need to obtain a copy of divorce decree and see how the property was to be settled there.

Any other advice Guru would be appreciated

**A: thus far, it appears the the husband has indivdual ownership and hold tenancy in severalty. If that is the case then the wife does not need to sign the deed unless the state of Washington has dower and curtsey rights. Check with your title company.

[JETX]

Sorry, that you got so many erroneous responses (especially from that 'tree for brains' idiot, who clearly offers NO legal advice or fact.... only his non-responsive OPINION!). And since he has seemed to divert responders from your questions... lets try this again and bring it back on focus:

"Seller is attempting to back out of deal. Says wife is refusing to sign papers (they are going through a divorce) however, I have a signed contract accepting the offer that was made."
*** Okay. Some questions here:
1) Do you know who's name(s) is/are on the title to the property?? If both, then you will need signatures from both at closing.
2) Did both spouses sign the purchase agreement?? If so, then you would have a valid contract that you can enforce if needed. If not, then you likely do NOT have a valid enforceable contract.

"What rights do I have to force this sale?"
*** Depends on your answers to the above.

Gentlemen, it does state "be civil" in the rules. Calling others names isn't following the guidelines. In this instance I only suggested he back off to avoid legal wrangling and possible failure when a viable alternative was within reach. How can that be idiotic? Oh yeah, it's idiotic because it leaves some lawyer without a fee. I forgot.

[JETX]

Originally Posted by treefon

Gentlemen, it does state "be civil" in the rules. Calling others names isn't following the guidelines. In this instance I only suggested he back off to avoid legal wrangling and possible failure when a viable alternative was within reach. How can that be idiotic? Oh yeah, it's idiotic because it leaves some lawyer without a fee. I forgot.

Awwww... poor baby got his feeling hurt?? Simple solution... don't be an idiot in your responses on this forum.

[HomeGuru]

sorry treebark, your bite is worse than your bark.

Thank you all for your words of advice. It seems that there is much more going on than what the seller cares to say.

Once it was uncovered that he hadn't even filed for divorce yet, we let him know that all we had to do was switch title companies and we can close w/out his wife's signature on any documents, he proceeded to go get his divorce filed today. So its obvious now that he clearly wants to back out of the deal for other reasons than what he initially said.
What he needs to understand is that he and I have a signed contract and I have hired a lawyer to sue him for the house.

Will keep you posted if you're interested.

[HomeGuru]

Good move in hiring the attorney.