Buyer wont close

I am selling a house on my own. I have a contract stating that the buyer has 30 days to close. The buyer postponed the closing until day 30. We met at his lawyer's office after 4:00 and we signed the closing papers. The lawyer said he would file the papers in the morning and then dispers funds. The next morning the buyer called and said he did not have the money to close. Can I sue for performance? Do I still have to sell to this guy?

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jfread:
I am selling a house on my own. I have a contract stating that the buyer has 30 days to close. The buyer postponed the closing until day 30. We met at his lawyer's office after 4:00 and we signed the closing papers. The lawyer said he would file the papers in the morning and then dispers funds. The next morning the buyer called and said he did not have the money to close. Can I sue for performance? Do I still have to sell to this guy?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

One should never sell or buy real estate without the help of a real estate agent or attorney. In this instance you have put yourself in a position of having no real estate or legal representation. The attorney is not an unrelated third party but represents the Buyer. That is why Sellers and Buyers should always use the services of an independent and licensed escrow and title company to handle the closing. Without reading the contract I can not answer your question. You need to hire an attorney who can review the contract clauses such as closing, time is of the essence, closing extensions, default provisions, financing, cash to close etc. You have the legal remedy for specific performance if all conditions of the contract have been met but the Buyer still does not close. If though there is a clause or special condition on the contract such as the sale is subject to financing or contingent on the Buyer receiving gifted funds from a relative and these events do not happen, then you have no recourse. If the Buyer can not purchase the property in a timely menner ( dictated by you) you need to cancel the transaction so you can sell the property to someone else. If the sale is via a land sales contract instrument and the Buyer does not have the down payment, you are looking for problems here.