house built not conforming to zoning - minor variance needs to be submitted

[Marla-lee]

What is the name of your state?Ontario, Canada

I don't know if USA is different from Canadian laws. I will tell you the problem. Need advise asap.
We are in the process of purchasing a home, it is 18 years old. We got a survey done as there wasn't one. We went in to sign closing papers and found out the house was built too close to road at side and front of house by 2 feet. A minor variance application has to be done. If one isn't passed, we could face over $60,000 in work to chop 2 feet off side of house and take off front verandah which is part of our home as it is a cape cod house. We don't want to close if the variance is not passed. What can we do? We already sold our house that we live in presently and the sales close on June 30th. Are we legally obligated to purchase the house, can be back out without getting sued, we contacted the zoning/municipal office to ask if it would pass, they said they couldn't guarantee anything because its up to the neighbours to say okay. It can take up to 8 weeks to find out. What should we do, we really want the house, but not if we have to do $60,000 worth of work to make it conform to the zoning requirements. I would appreciate any help you can give me.
Thanks

 

[htine30]

Talk to your real estate agent

I know nothing about Canadian laws, having said that, the first thing you should do is talk to your real estate agent. He or She can tell you what the consequences are for backing out of the sale. I know in most places in the U.S. the sales contract contains an "out" for the buyer if upon inspection, the property is not as agreed to. This usually happens early on in the purchase process, not right before closing.

You may want to consider moving the closing date back if you still want this property. You may have to pay the seller for their inconvenience and it may cost some money to have to move twice and rent for the short term, but if you have to spend $60,000 it is cheaper than paying that. Again, talk to your real estate agent, that's why they get a commission, to make sure the transaction goes smoothly.

Good luck.

p.s. talk to the buyers of your current house, maybe they'd want to rent it back to you if they weren't planning on moving in right away.

 

[Marla-lee]

zoning problem week from closing

Thanks for the help.. I took your advice. We backed out of deal because the vendor did'nt want to accommodate us at all, we received our deposit back and signed mutual release. We are still out about $5,000 in fee invested into getting this home, broker fees, lawyers, inspection, survey, appraisal. But at least I can sleep at night. Title insurance would have covered it if we didn't know about it before closing..only coveres finding out after closing. Ethical problem. Now we are trying to find a place to go, have to be out of her tomorrow...no where to turn...no rental units...no family.....very scary with 3 kids. We bought a storage unit to put all of our belongings. May have to go to hotel until we find a place. Very costly. Purchasers of our home didn't want to delay closing or rent to us. Our agent is trying to help us.

WIll keep you informed of our plight. Thanks again for your input, greatly appreciated.