What can I do when I am selling my home to a person on contract and they have broken the contract?
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What can I do when I am selling my home to a person on contract and they have broken the contract?
I am selling my house to a lady on a contract written and notarized between the 2
of us. There are specific regulations to the contract in which she has broken
most of them. I just want my house back.In the contract the buyer is to have
insurance on the home which she does not. She is also to pay and keep paid
property taxes, she has not paid one cent. Her rent is due on the 5th and is
never paid on time, usually comes in a little here, a little there. I made the
mistake of giving her a 10 day grace period which I thought by law I had to. So
most of the time she will wait until the 15th. She has already been in court with
the city over trash, debris, etc on the property which we agreed would not
happen.I just want her gone… What can I do?
Asked on October 12, 2017 under Real Estate Law, Illinois
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
When one party (the buyer) breaches (violates) the contract in material (or important) ways, such as by not paying taxes, not maintaining insurance, paying rent late, etc., those material breaches allow the other party (you) to treat the contract as terminated (or over)--so you could refuse to sell to her any longer, and furthermore, since by breaching the contract, she'd no longer have any right to occupy your home, you could remove her. Because of what is at stake (a house!) and that you have potentially two separate legal action (breach of contract; and eviction--they cannot generally be combined in the same lawsuit or action), you are *strongly* encouraged to retain an attorney to help you.
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