Do I still have to sell my house if I found liens on title search
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Do I still have to sell my house if I found liens on title search
My house is under contract to close today but title office found liens I didn’t know about yesterday. The attorney will not accept a lower amount there will not be any equity left and possibly have to bring money to close. Can I back out since I didn’t know about these liens?
Asked on April 19, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Idaho
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
No, you can't back out due to not knowing abou the liens. That (your knowledge, or lack thereof) was under your control: you could, for example, have done a title search yourself in advance to know if you had any "clouds" on title (liens or other issues). You cannot use something under your control--i.e. where you could have found out about the liens in advance, had you chosen to--to get out of a contact.
Similarly, you cannot use negative changes in your economic situation--i.e. that something happened or was discovered that will cause you to make less money, or even lose money, on the deal--as grounds to get out of a contract. Your situation is irrelevant to the contract.
You can only get out of the contract if the buyer lied about something (committed fraud) or breached/violated their own obligations in an important or material way. Otherwise, and including if you found liens on your property, you are obligated to go through with the contract; if you don't, the buyer can sue you to force you to sell the home.
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