What happens when a purchase contract is cancelled?
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What happens when a purchase contract is cancelled?
I recently won a bid on a house. I stated that I was going to pay by conventional loan and gave them a check for the closing costs. They said the seller has 14 days to accept the offer. Almost 2 weeks later the seller agreed, but will only accept cash only (no loan) or allow repairs that need to be done to pass inspection for the loan. Since I did not agree to this I told my agent to decline the offer and he advised me to cancel the check. One week later the auction company left a message requesting the conventional loan information.
Asked on December 10, 2010 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
The seller did not accept the offer--you offered to pay by conventional loan. The seller refused that offer and instead counteroffered: pay by cash, etc. While you need to check the terms and conditions of the auction to see what happens when the seller does not accept the offer the winning bidder makes within the appropriate time frame, from a legal point of view, countering back with different terms consitututes rejection of your offer. So if the seller had 14 days to accept and instead came back with a counteroffer, that would be rejection of the offer within the 14 day period. So now look at the agreements governing the auction to see what happens when the seller declines or rejects.
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