Difficulty Getting Seller to Leave House

**fpmr96a** · 08-24-2008, 08:36 PM

I recently sold my house and am living in the Marriot with my wife and daughter. We've had a contract to purchase a house we love since July 7, have been through the inspection, have mortgage committment, and could be "clear to close" upon getting my homeowners insurance paid.

The house is "for sale by owner" and this seller needs an agent more than anyone I've ever met, but refuses to get one. He freaked out when I requested a 45-day closing, which is what my buyer asked for (and received). I had to build into my contract a clause stating that if don't close in 45 days, he gets another 30 days to close and if we close within the 30 days afterward, I get $2,000 back at closing.

Well, we passed the 45-day closing and now it looks questionable as to whether he'll close in the 30 days afterward, which is september 19. He seems to be avoiding temporary housing at all costs although he won't say that. He did find a house he likes, last week, but has been negotiating since Wednesday and now I'm told they're at a "stalemate".

My contract also says that if we don't close by september 19, I have the option of terminating or re-negotiating the contract. His bank claims they can close on 9/19, but unless he locks up this deal tomorrow I think it's unlikely 9/19 can happen.

I'm just not sure how to play my next step with him. Believe it or not, in our area, the market is pretty good. I had 2 offers on my house in 6 weeks. In our buying price range, there is nothing else we like in our town, at the moment.

Naturally, we're in a good position living the Marriot with nothing to sell, waiting for the right house to come on the market, but it's not cheap staying here, nevermind our $730/month storage fees.

We'd love to tell this guy to fry ice, but we love his house and dont' have any other houses we're interested in persuing. Of course, it's likely he'll continue to jerk us around if we extend the contract. Our offer to him is close to asking price, and he'll likely not get as strong an offer from someone else, as the market has fallen since we negotiated our deal. My lawyer has been of little help.

Any help would be greatly appreciated ...

Thanks,
Andrew

**jamesww** · 08-24-2008, 10:26 PM

The way you describe how the contract was drawn up I really do not think you have anything to push legally and this is why your attorney hasn't been much help. The scenario you describe is very common and happens to be the reason why very few FSBO transactions ever close.

The only true tool you have is your right to walk away. You need to make him believe that you will walk and make the seller concerned that he will not be able to find another buyer. To do this without pissing off the seller leaving him not caring whether you walk away or not. Takes either a very special personality or a great deal of skill.

I would suggest you approach the seller telling him that he will need to pay your housing and storage expenses or you will have to walk away. Make him believe that it is just causing to much stress on your family and you feel as a man you have to do what is right for your family. Tell him that your laying out the cost of storage and the hotel is putting a strain on your marriage and that an agent has found another house your wife likes. Tell him that you guys still love his house and that is the one your family really wants to buy but your living circumstances are putting you in a position where you can not keep on going the way you have.

Now I would suggest you find an agent that will hunt down the house you want not just send you listing from the MLS. This way you will be telling the truth when you tell the seller that you have found another place.

Let us know how it goes and feel free to ask any question you might have. I check my own forum much more often than I check this forum so if you want a more speedy turn around on your question you can find the link to my forum below. I wish you luck!

**fpmr96a** · 08-25-2008, 04:16 AM

Thanks very much for the informative reply ...

The seller's agent (buying) has actually been intervening, even though he's not making anything on this. If this goes through (or maybe even not), I intend to do something for this guy.

I believe this agent has been sending the message back to the seller that 9/19 is it for this deal, but doesn't seem to phase the seller. He's downsizing, due to financial constraints, yet tries to send the message that he doesn't care either way if it sells. So far, he's been very successful in keeping us on the hook and been rather pompus in all of his dealings. Hard to believe in a market like this ...

Naturally, if we threaten to walk, we have to be prepared to walk, which is where this gets sticky. We only wish we had a backup house(other than waiting for a new listing). For now, I think we've left it a little vague as to what our next step will be. We've told his agent we found something else we love, but that doesn't seem to have made a difference.

I left him a phone message last Thursday and he never called me back. Takes nerve, doesn't it? We're slowing starting to dislike the house, associating it with the flaky owner.

Our agent scours the market for us, but there really isn't anything else in our price range we like, and truly very little to pick from.

Thanks...
Andrew

**Greg** · 08-25-2008, 07:38 AM

Don't talk about walking away. This puts him in the power position.

Talk about him not performing his end of the contract and his liability for your expenses. After the first 30 day extension you get $2,000 and after that all of your expenses incurred in this deal become his liability.

Get a different lawyer.

**jamesww** · 08-26-2008, 08:55 AM

Greg, is right on reminding him of the $2,000 expense he will incur, however the way you have described the contract he would most likely not be responsible for your expenses. This is why your attorney has not really done much with this contract. Remind hime that you plan to keep the $2,000 and walk if he does not come through by the closing date. Just remember that the agent you say is helping has no incentive to assure the contract closes. Infact they have more to gain by the transaction falling through.

You need to push on your agent to do some direct mail marketing to homeowners that have homes in neighborhoods that you like. This is better than sitting around waiting for something to come onto the market that you might like. The seller has you tied up unless you truely have another property that interests you. Remind the seller of the requirements of the contract and the chance that he will loose the $2,000 and you as a buyer. It is time to return the ball back to his court the only way you can do this is by having a back up property that you like.

**fpmr96a** · 08-26-2008, 04:31 PM

I agree that my attorney has been weak in dealing with this. The $2000 is only paid to me if we close after 45 days (8/20) but before 9/19. The contract says that if we don't close by 9/19 I have the option of terminating or renegotiating.

The latest is that the seller has found a house to buy and they've (slowly) negotiated a price. My seller signed it today and his seller is supposed to sign it tonight. Supposedly, the agent representing my seller spoke to the mortgage company today and he said they could close by 9/19, which seems really tight. But, this is more promising than ever ...

Still, if he misses the 9/19 closing date, I'm going to require that he pay for some of my additional expenses - rate lock extensions, storage fees, and hotel expenses. Maybe that will be enough to drive him out of the house into temporary housing, if he needs more time on his contract to buy.

**fpmr96a** · 09-02-2008, 04:11 AM

Supposedly my seller has a signed contract to purchase a house and we're shooting for a 9/19 closing. I've been looking for signs of this being true, as w/o an agent involved most of what I hear is questionable. I drove by his house yesterday and still no signs of packing in the garage - which seems odd given that he's supposed to move out in 2 weeks.

I did notice that the listing for the house he's buying is missing from Realtor.com now, so I guess that's a good sign. Today I'm going to have my attorney contact his to see if we're still on track for 9/19.

His inspection is on wednesday and he's to have committment by 9/12, which seems pretty tight for a 9/19 closing, but I'm told they do this all the time.

Andrew