Kumar
01-01-2009, 08:28 AM
Hi,
We entered into a contract to buy a short sale property. We put down a significant amount in escrow. After the contract was signed, the seller did not indicate a closing date for 3.5 months. On reaching out to the seller stating that the property needs some repairs and in the financial crisis the delay is hurting us, he promised a cash credit at closing and set the closing approximately 3 weeks from that day. After 3 weeks, the seller did not show up for closing and did not return calls. After the end of that week our attorney sent a "Time is of Essence" notice to the sellers attorney and gave a 10 day period and also included the promised credit in the notice.
The seller's attorney responded on the 10th day that the inspection of the unit was not done on time and hence the credit is not valid and they "reject" the time of essence. Essentially the seller's lawyer is denying that the seller promised (verbally) a credit and using that as a loophole to continue postponing the closing as the liens on the property aren't yet cleared.
Does the argument have any merit or is our Time of essence valid and I have legal rights to exit the contract and recoup my escrow money? Any suggestions will be very helpful.
Regards,
Kumar
We entered into a contract to buy a short sale property. We put down a significant amount in escrow. After the contract was signed, the seller did not indicate a closing date for 3.5 months. On reaching out to the seller stating that the property needs some repairs and in the financial crisis the delay is hurting us, he promised a cash credit at closing and set the closing approximately 3 weeks from that day. After 3 weeks, the seller did not show up for closing and did not return calls. After the end of that week our attorney sent a "Time is of Essence" notice to the sellers attorney and gave a 10 day period and also included the promised credit in the notice.
The seller's attorney responded on the 10th day that the inspection of the unit was not done on time and hence the credit is not valid and they "reject" the time of essence. Essentially the seller's lawyer is denying that the seller promised (verbally) a credit and using that as a loophole to continue postponing the closing as the liens on the property aren't yet cleared.
Does the argument have any merit or is our Time of essence valid and I have legal rights to exit the contract and recoup my escrow money? Any suggestions will be very helpful.
Regards,
Kumar