Deposit money and breach of contract in PA

[pandaman]

Pennsylvania

Our house is for sale in PA. We entered into an Agreement of Sale on Monday and the buyers backed out due to "cold feet" 2 days later on Wednesday. They backed out prior to submitting their deposit and prior to any inspections etc.. According to our contract, they have 5 days to submit the initial deposit and 14 days to submit the rest.

My question is: Even though they have not submitted and money, are they obligated to pay because they breached contract? Or is there a 5 day "cold feet" buffer that allows them to terminate the contract?

Our realtors are asking us to sign a form that lets the buyer off the hook.

We feel there should be consequences since our house went off market for 3 days but we are not sure if its worth pursuing.

Isn't this a binding contract???

Thanks in advance.

 

[quincy]

Pennsylvania

Our house is for sale in PA. We entered into an Agreement of Sale on Monday and the buyers backed out due to "cold feet" 2 days later on Wednesday. They backed out prior to submitting their deposit and prior to any inspections etc.. According to our contract, they have 5 days to submit the initial deposit and 14 days to submit the rest.

My question is: Even though they have not submitted and money, are they obligated to pay because they breached contract? Or is there a 5 day "cold feet" buffer that allows them to terminate the contract?

Our realtors are asking us to sign a form that lets the buyer off the hook.

We feel there should be consequences since our house went off market for 3 days but we are not sure if its worth pursuing.

Isn't this a binding contract???

Thanks in advance.

If your house was off the market for only three days, it is best to just accept that the deal has fallen through.

 

[Zigner]

Honestly, your best bet will probably be just to move on...

 

[pandaman]

If your house was off the market for only three days, it is best to just accept that the deal has fallen through.

Ok, thanks for your advice. That's what we are thinking too.

 

[pandaman]

Honestly, your best bet will probably be just to move on...

Thank you. We will move on and hope for better results next time!!

 

[quincy]

Ok, thanks for your advice. That's what we are thinking too.

I think that’s smart.

We appreciate the thanks, so thank you.

Good luck with the sale of your house.

 

[zddoodah]

Even though they have not submitted and money, are they obligated to pay because they breached contract? Or is there a 5 day "cold feet" buffer that allows them to terminate the contract?

. . .

Isn't this a binding contract?

No one who hasn't read your contract can intelligently answer these questions. Also, just because a contract is "binding" doesn't mean it doesn't afford one or both parties the ability to terminate it.

We feel there should be consequences since our house went off market for 3 days but we are not sure if its worth pursuing.

What damages did you suffer as a result of the house being off the market for three days? Consider the possibility that you might get an even better offer next week.

 

[quincy]

If the sales agreement said the purchasers had 5 days to provide a deposit, and the offer to purchase was withdrawn within 3 days without a deposit ever being made, the contract was never finalized.

Usually an offer to purchase will include a deposit of earnest money.

 

[pandaman]

No one who hasn't read your contract can intelligently answer these questions. Also, just because a contract is "binding" doesn't mean it doesn't afford one or both parties the ability to terminate it.



What damages did you suffer as a result of the house being off the market for three days? Consider the possibility that you might get an even better offer next week.

Agreed, we are hopeful of this.

 

[quincy]

Agreed, we are hopeful of this.

I have known purchasers to back out of a house sale at closing so, in many ways, you are fortunate that the purchasers acted as quickly as they did. It was no doubt a disappointment but, all things considered, it was not too costly a one.

 

[pandaman]

I have known purchasers to back out of a house sale at closing so, in many ways, you are fortunate that the purchasers acted as quickly as they did. It was no doubt a disappointment but, all things considered, it was not too costly a one.

Very true. This only cost us disappointment and we have moved on. Thanks again for all the comments.

 

[quincy]

Very true. This only cost us disappointment and we have moved on. Thanks again for all the comments.

I wish you good luck with your next purchasers. I recommend you get an earnest money deposit with any purchase offer, so you have that money should the purchasers back out.

 

[STEPHAN]

They backed out prior to submitting their deposit and prior to any inspections etc.. According to our contract, they have 5 days to submit the initial deposit and 14 days to submit the rest.

Isn't this a binding contract???

If they had an inspection period, they could have backed out during that any time ...

 

[quincy]

If they had an inspection period, they could have backed out during that any time ...

If the offer to purchase had an inspection contingency, you are right.

It is the smart purchaser who submits their offer contingent on both a satisfactory inspection and on an ability to finance the purchase (either to allow for the possibility of a failure to sell a current home or to allow for the possibility of bank financing going south due to a unsatisfactory inspection report).

Although it is nice to believe that an accepted offer to purchase means the house is sold, a lot can happen between accepted offer and closing.