I want to back out - I'm the seller

[DaBar]

What is the name of your state? MA

I live in MA. I put my house on the market and 30 minutes later I had a buyer. It was my next door neighbor. Everything seemed great. We both signed an agreement to sell.

Here is the agreement.

I Name agree to purchase from Name Property Address for the agreed upon price of Dollar Amount

On this date a five hundred dollar deposit will be made, in 7 to 10 days a home inspection will be performed. Upon a satisfactory inspection a purchase and sales agreement will be signed within ten days. A 5% deposit will be made upon signing the purchase and sales agreement. Closing will be 4 to 6 weeks after signing of sales agreement subject to 80% financing at prevailing rates and terms. Pre-approval will be provided 7 business days from this signing.

It wasn't a purchase and sales agreement. Just an agreement stating that he had 7 "business" days to get pre-approval and 10 days to get the house inspected.

The 7 business days for the pre-approval ends tomorrow.

After signing this agreement 2 days later he told me he was struggling to get approved. This was a completely 360 from our initial meeting. Then yesterday he told me he "forgot" when the 7 days ended. I told him this Tuesday. He said that was great. He also said he thought it was last Friday and he was prepared to ask for his deposit back and we could just forget the whole thing. This scared me even more. I have a bad feeling about this guy now. I had never met him before.

I told him I didn't like the way things were proceeding and that I would like to give his deposit back and cancel the agreement. Basically I'm scared that in 4-6 weeks he is going to back out right before the closing. I'm moving to the West Coast. Timing is everything for me. I can't have someone back out.

Anyways... He got angry and said he would come get his deposit. He didn't show up and won't return my calls. I'm afraid Tuesday he is going to show up with a pre-approval. Which is just going to stress me out because it won't give me the peace of mind. I still have the gut feeling that he might not go through with this.

Here are my questions:
1)
Can he hold me to this agreement? I have other buyers lined up, but I'm afraid to move forward right now.

2) Shoud I mail him the deposit back?

2) We said in the agreement that he must have a home inspection within 10 days. We didn't state business days like we did for the pre-approval. We just said 10 days. June 15th - June 25th is 10 days. Does that end today? If yes, does it terminate the agreement.

3) Any advice? I would appreciate it.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by DaBar

What is the name of your state? MA

I live in MA. I put my house on the market and 30 minutes later I had a buyer. It was my next door neighbor. Everything seemed great. We both signed an agreement to sell.

Here is the agreement.

I Name agree to purchase from Name Property Address for the agreed upon price of Dollar Amount

On this date a five hundred dollar deposit will be made, in 7 to 10 days a home inspection will be performed. Upon a satisfactory inspection a purchase and sales agreement will be signed within ten days. A 5% deposit will be made upon signing the purchase and sales agreement. Closing will be 4 to 6 weeks after signing of sales agreement subject to 80% financing at prevailing rates and terms. Pre-approval will be provided 7 business days from this signing.

It wasn't a purchase and sales agreement. Just an agreement stating that he had 7 "business" days to get pre-approval and 10 days to get the house inspected.

The 7 business days for the pre-approval ends tomorrow.

After signing this agreement 2 days later he told me he was struggling to get approved. This was a completely 360 from our initial meeting. Then yesterday he told me he "forgot" when the 7 days ended. I told him this Tuesday. He said that was great. He also said he thought it was last Friday and he was prepared to ask for his deposit back and we could just forget the whole thing. This scared me even more. I have a bad feeling about this guy now. I had never met him before.

I told him I didn't like the way things were proceeding and that I would like to give his deposit back and cancel the agreement. Basically I'm scared that in 4-6 weeks he is going to back out right before the closing. I'm moving to the West Coast. Timing is everything for me. I can't have someone back out.

Anyways... He got angry and said he would come get his deposit. He didn't show up and won't return my calls. I'm afraid Tuesday he is going to show up with a pre-approval. Which is just going to stress me out because it won't give me the peace of mind. I still have the gut feeling that he might not go through with this.

Here are my questions:
1)
Can he hold me to this agreement? I have other buyers lined up, but I'm afraid to move forward right now.

2) Shoud I mail him the deposit back?

2) We said in the agreement that he must have a home inspection within 10 days. We didn't state business days like we did for the pre-approval. We just said 10 days. June 15th - June 25th is 10 days. Does that end today? If yes, does it terminate the agreement.

3) Any advice? I would appreciate it.

**A: why are you not using a Realtor or real estate attorney?

[DaBar]

I was trying to avoid paying the real estate fee. I figured I'd give it 3 weeks and if I couldn't sell it I would use a real estate agent.

It is my first time selling a house and I definetely made a mistake with this person. Am I stuck here? I know it's a contract. But, it isn't a purchase and sales agreement.

And today technically is the 10th day where he needed to have the home inspected. It was signed on the 15th. Today is the 25th.

[DaBar]

Does anyone have any opinions/suggestions?

Please help.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by DaBar

Does anyone have any opinions/suggestions?

Please help.

**A: yes, hire an attorney.