What is recourse in Ca if seller refuses to Close
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What is recourse in Ca if seller refuses to Close
In the state of California, if the Buyer has signed all the docs, including escrow on
Monday and then it Funds on Tuesday and they signed off in all the contingencies.
But refuse to close because we allowed them to rent the house for 2 weeks during
the escrow period and they heard a noice in outdoor hose bib. We, the sellers had
it looked at at our own expense and its normal and up to code. Thats still not good
enough and theyre calling theyre own plumber. And still refuse to close
Asked on June 13, 2019 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
The seller's recourse is two-fold:
1) Keep the earnest money/deposit; they forfeit that if they breach the sale contract by refusing to close.
2) If the sellers can show that they have lost or spent more money than the deposit (example: they end up having to "carry" and pay for the house for an extra six or seven months before a new buyer purchases it, and during that time spend more on mortgage, taxes, etc. than the deposit), they could possibly sue the buyers for the surplus or excess of their losses over the deposit. (Assuming, that is, that there is nothing in the contract barring that, or limiting their recovery or recourse to the deposit.)
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