What can a seller do when a buyer refuses to close? It depends upon what is stated in the sales contract, which governs the entire transaction.
How’s this for a horror story? It popped up in my email and I changed some of the details to make the parties less identifiable.
“Recently a widower, I decided to list my house and move to a condominium. I accepted a contract a couple of months ago, and there were no provisions in it for inspections or repairs. I knew that the buyer is a Realtor, but I was not told at the time that he, his agent, and my agent all worked in the same real estate office.
Shortly before closing, the buyer ordered three inspections, he said, to "check the roof for his peace of mind." The first two inspectors said there are several years of remaining roof life. The 3rd guy thought it was on its last legs and estimated a replacement cost of $17,000
Then on the day we were scheduled to close, the buyer said that he was canceling because of the "roof problem" and demanded his deposit back. I had already sold all my furniture, rented storage space for the remainder of my belongings, put a deposit down on the condominium, put in a change of address, cancelled my water, telephone, cable, electric, and so on."
