contract question

Unfortunately I have read on these boards that exactly what you are saying has happened. I don't know about the commitment letter...

you say that the contract has been signed--do you mean just by you or by the seller as well?If he countersigned then no,he can not pull out. It sounds like you have a financing contingency and the seller wants to feel secure in knowing the deal will happen. If he has already signed and is just asking this as a courtesy why not put his mind at ease? If he has sined but is threatening to pull--he can't. If he has not yet signed your contract he is not bound to anything

It sounds like the seller hasn't signed. It seems that he/she is being cautious in this current mortgage climate & doesn't want to buy the new abode & then get stuck carrying the current residence as well. That is always a risk.

Yes, it sounds like the seller does not want to own both properties. If your contract is contingent on financing and you do not have a commitment letter then the seller is at risk should your loan not get approved. If the seller has not signed the contract he can walk away. If you are absolutetly certain of your loan being approved and you do not want to lose the apartment then maybe you should consider removing the finance contingency. Discuss the risk with your lawyer/mortgage broker.

tmf thanks for your reply. the seller has signed as well. we are good to go with financing so yes i will tell them. should i provide a copy of our letter??? someone told me that if a seller gets another offer he can take it even if both parties have signed . is that true?

no--if the contract is signed by both you are fine. Since he has indeed signed your deal,he is just afraid of being stuck with 2 properties should you fail to obtain financing. Seems he is just nervous and wants reassurance so I see no reason not to make him feel comfortable and show him.

one more question. when the 30 days is up regarding the finance contingency clause what happens? what i mean is do they then need proof we will be able to honor our deal?

My experience really lies more in buildings, not apartments. In the few deals I have been a part of where there was a financing contingency, the contingency essentially exploded 30 days or whatever into it. It was not that the buyer needed at that point to supply proof, but that after the expiration of the 30 days(or whatever) they could no longer back out due to not obtaining financing without losing their deposit. However, this may differ for residential apartment. Your broker or lawyer will know for certain.I believe it would be part of any board package you would need toput together,if applicable.

thanks TMF.

a comment on #9: my understanding of this is slightly different: my sense (I offer this on the basis only of having sold my own apartment and was told something to this effect by my real estate attorney) is that if a buyer has a financing contingency for say 30 days and those 30 days elapse, the buyer *still* has a financing contingency (still needs to get financing, obviously), but the *seller* is now able to get out of the deal and consider other offers because that contingency wasn't met in time. In a seller's market, this gives the seller more power; in a buyer's market, the seller is at a minor disadvantage, because even if the contingency hasn't been met (let's say that the buyer is simply late in getting the letter) then the seller has to decide whether to wait it out and proceed toward closing anyway under the presumption that the financing will materialize OR get it back out on the market / consider other offers. But this is just an anecdotal sense and not legal advice (I am not a lawyer); if you're worried about it, you should just ask your attorney.

#11--interesting, that is different. Again, I have little experience with apartments. So out of curiosity,if the buyer was slow getting the letter but chose at that point to just waive the contingency could the seller at that point still back out?(Just speaking from your experience...I understand you are not an attorney)

so the buyer will have to provide the letter at 30days to the seller to prove he /she has the financing in order?