Rejecting an offer is completely legal as long as you do it for the right reasons. There are many reasons that are legally acceptable, including low offers and concerns about the buyer's financial position. However, sellers cannot discriminate against people protected by state and federal laws. If the seller withdraws for a reason that is not provided for in the contract, the buyer can take the seller to court and force the sale of the house.
This is a long and lengthy process, and most buyers don't go that way because they need a place to live as soon as possible. However, the buyer can still sue the seller for breach of contract. The seller may have to pay the buyer all types of costs, including money spent on hotels or temporary housing because they failed to comply with the agreement, funds spent by the buyer during the course of the home purchase, such as surveys and inspections, storage of belongings, and other related expenses. The seller may have to pay the buyer's legal fees and court costs.
Money is also returned as guarantee to the buyer, with interest. A deal is generally the amount that leaves the buyer feeling “complete” after their experience. Yes, of course, any offer to your house could be turned down. However, if you accept it, the buyer's court will take the ball and the decision.
However, in many cases, a home seller who fails to comply with a purchase agreement can be sued for breach of contract. A judge can order the seller to sign a deed and complete the sale anyway. Can a homeowner legally refuse to sell a home to a potential buyer? It's not always illegal to refuse to sell to a buyer, but there are some cases where saying “No thanks” isn't acceptable. Those reasons are if you are discriminating on the basis of age, sex, religion, race, sexual orientation, disability, or any other discriminatory reason as described in the Fair Housing Act.
If the Buyer refuses to go ahead and purchase the property without a valid way to terminate the agreement, any deposit paid by the Buyer would normally be at risk as damages from the Seller. As a matter of law, if a Seller refuses to sell a piece of real property that has entered into a legally binding contract to sell, the Buyer of that property has the right to seek specific performance. Hopefully, you'll hire a professional real estate agent who can guide and advise you on who you can and can't sell to under all applicable laws. The seller will likely have to pay the real estate agent the property commission, which can amount to a substantial amount of money.
Specific compliance is a legal remedy that allows the Buyer to go to court to compel the Seller to transfer ownership to the Buyer under the terms of the Agreement. The seller's real estate agent did the work he was supposed to do and found a buyer for the house. Schorr also notes that home sellers backing out is “very, very common, especially in a hot housing market. The only way a court can make a Buyer complete is to force the Seller to sell the exact property that the Buyer had agreed to buy.
These include a buyer not obtaining a mortgage within a specified period, or the buyer requiring certain repairs and the seller refusing to make them. A buyer who has a purchase contract with a seller who wants to withdraw should consult a real estate lawyer. You correctly point out that there are many state, federal, and even local laws that regulate the sale of real estate. .
