Contract Signed

In these days of financial volatility, a contract can be signed in the morning and cancelled at night. That's why nytimes.com aren't taken down even after contract already signed.
There are other circumstances. Impossibility of performance can terminate a contract if something unforeseen prevents the performance of the contract. For example, you contract with a famous designer to rennovate your house and the famous designer dies. The obligation to rennovate your house cannot be completed. The contract to rennovate your house is terminated by impossibility of performance.
Rescission sometimes occurs when one or both parties has the right to cancel a contract under the terms of a contract. For example, a psychiatric person can cancel a contract because he or she lacks competence to make a contract in the first place. Or the parties can together agree to terminate the contract.

Wow, inoeverything, you're really putting in some effort.

freewilly, the brokers are demonstrating to sellers (potential clients) that they are able to make a sale. It's advertising for them at that point.

As for "contract out," yes, you can still bid, as the contract isn't fully executed until the seller receives it signed by the buyer (along with the deposit check) and then signs as well. Not only would you have to bid higher, but the seller would want the buyer with the greatest likelihood of passing the board (in the case of a co-op), and then there's the issue of who's willing to waive the financing contingency, who's asking for what seller concessions, etc.

That said, you'd need to think a place is awfully special to want to try and outbid a contract-out buyer these days, and I wouldn't agree to a no finance contingency deal unless I was willing to pay in cash.

It's also just bad housekeeping on the Times' part. I've seen 'contract signed' properties sit in the database for months on end. There's one property I'm aware of that sold more than a year ago yet STILL appears on the Times search.

thx tenemental, that clears it up for me - good to know for people who find that dream property listing and find it "contract out", though I'd imagine it would be poor form by both the seller and the new buyer to instigate a possible bidding war after the verbal offer was accepted. last resort I guess.

inoeverything - interesting. the seller's worst nightmare - someone able to produce a doctor's note claiming not being psychologically sound to back out of a contract and get the deposit back... hmm...

The Times should automatically sweep the Manhattan MLS so if the listings don't flip over it's the fault of individual brokers who aren't updating their listings in the MLS, not the Times.

ali r.
[downtown broker}