REAL ESTATE CONTRACTS ARTICLES
Attorney Approval Required By Out-Of-State Investor
Question: The buyer of our Tempe home is an investor from Illinois. In the purchase contract that we accepted there is a 10-day contingency for approval of the purchase contract by the buyer’s Illinois attorney. What does that mean? Answer: An attorney-review contingency in a purchase contract is not uncommon with out-of-state buyers, whether they are buying commercial properties or buying homes. Under the 10-day attorney-review contingency in your purchase contract, the Illinois buyer can cancel your purchase contract within the first 10 days of the escrow period, if the Illinois attorney disapproves in writing of the purchase contract.
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How To Get Access For Inspection, Appraisal
Question: We were finally able to have our purchase offer accepted for a Mesa home. The purchase price was $735,000. When we sent our home inspector to the Mesa home for the ten-day home inspection, however, the seller said that she was too busy to schedule an inspection in the next two weeks. Our real estate agent thinks that this delay by the seller is due to the fact that the market value of the home is now $800,000, which is $65,000 over our purchase price. Even if we waive the home inspection, the seller may refuse to grant access…
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Can Professional Negligence Be Waived In Advance?
Question: Three months after we closed escrow on our Peoria home, we discovered major leaks in the bathroom plumbing. One of our neighbors said that two prior buyers of our home had cancelled the purchase contracts when they discovered these water leaks. When we contacted the real estate agent who represented both the seller and us in this transaction, she said that she had no liability because we agreed in the purchase contract to release her from any liability. Is she correct that she has no liability because of this release? Answer: Probably not. Lines 428-434 of the standard Arizona…
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Should Barking Dogs Be Disclosed To New Owners?
Question: We lived in our Glendale home for more than four years until we moved to our Sun City home. During the time that we lived in our Glendale home, we both worked during the day, as did our next-door neighbors, who had three dogs that were outside and barked constantly during the day. At night and during the weekends, however, the dogs were generally inside our next-door neighbors’ home. Three months ago, we sold our Glendale home. During escrow, the buyers came by our home several times during the day for inspections, and saw and heard the barking. The…
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Builders Of New Homes Require Mediation And Arbitration Of Disputes With Home Buyer
Question: We signed the builder’s purchase contract to buy a new home in San Tan Valley. The builder’s sales agent made numerous false statements, especially in regard to the upgrades that were available in the home. The “bottom line” is that we canceled the purchase contract and demanded our $20,000 earnest money back. The builder refuses to give the $20,000 earnest money back to us. In addition, the builder demands reimbursement for the $28,000 cost of upgrades that the builder says are worthless to any new buyer of the home. Under the builder’s purchase contract, we are required to mediate…
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Court Can Force Property Seller To Sign Deed
Question: Last month we signed a contract to buy a Mesa home. Even in the last 30 days, however, prices in Mesa and other parts of the southeast Valley have skyrocketed. Everything is ready for the closing of this Mesa home, but the seller refuses to go to the title company to sign the deed to us. We have to move out of our apartment in less than two weeks. Is there anything that we can do to force the seller to sign the deed to us, and close escrow on our home, before we have to move out of…
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Recourse For Spouse’s Misuse Of Community Funds
Question: After seventeen years my husband and I have been having serious marital problems. When I was back in Minnesota visiting my parents recently, my husband signed a contract to purchase a condominium in Mesa in his name only. The $10,000 earnest money was “hard” or nonrefundable after the 10-day inspection period. My husband couldn’t get a mortgage loan in his name only, however, so the purchase contract was canceled. The seller now refuses to refund the $10,000 “hard” earnest money. We are still trying to save our marriage, and my husband has apologized to me. Have we lost the…
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Will Seller Carryback Financing Be Jeopardized If Buyer Is A Drug Dealer?
Question: We are selling our Carefree home. A young man has made us an offer to purchase our Carefree home for $600,000. There will be a down payment of $250,000 cash, and financing by a $350,000 seller carryback loan from us. This $250,000 cash is apparently from the young man’s successful real estate investments, but the young man cannot qualify for a $350,000 mortgage loan. We think that this young man could be a drug dealer. If we sell our Carefree home to this young man and the FBI seizes the home for drug dealing, will we lose our $350,000…
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