My husband and I are scheduled to close on our house this Friday. However, one of the sellers is...?

Question

in bankruptcy and neglected to tell anyone this until our title company found the lien on the property yesterday. In the state of VA, sellers have sixty days to fix the title issues on a property. Can we legally walk away because our closing date is going to be pushed back so much? We were hoping for the tax credit and now it's not looking promising. Thanks for any advice!

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

"In the state of VA, sellers have sixty days to fix the title issues on a property."

That sounds like the answer to your question, and may override any wording of the purchase agreement you signed. It would be best to check with a real estate attorney to be sure.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Our closing attorney told us that the only thing we can do is ask the seller to release us from the contract and they don't really have to. But, since they were dishonest about their situation and tried to get around the lien on the property, we will be able to take it to court. Probably won't tho

Answer 2

yes because seller will breach the contract if they do not close as agreed in purchase agreement. You are under no obligation to extend that deadline.

the tax credit is likely going to be extended until April.

Answer 3

Yes, you can cancel. Your purchase contract will have a paragraph telling you exactly what you need to write. And it will tell you who gets a copy (usually one copy mailed to the seller and one to the title company - fax is ok). You get your earnest money back.
Since your loan is approved, you can still beat the Nov 30 deadline with another house. Put in that purchase contract that it is vital to close by Nov 30 or you get all your money back.