{"id":5689,"date":"2022-11-15T13:44:46","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T20:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/?p=5689"},"modified":"2022-11-15T13:44:47","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T20:44:47","slug":"5-legal-issues-home-sellers-should-be-aware-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/5-legal-issues-home-sellers-should-be-aware-of","title":{"rendered":"5 Legal Issues Home Sellers Should be Aware Of"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you are working hard to get your home\nready to sell, this may be a good time to take a break and learn about a few of\nthe legal issues that await you. The process of selling a home presents you,\nthe seller, with one legal issue after another that must be addressed and\nresolved. If you fail to do so, you could lose a buyer or, even worse, end up\nbeing sued for damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That last part about a lawsuit probably\ngot your attention, but keep in mind that most homeowners get through the\nprocess of selling a home without a lawsuit or disgruntled buyer. It all\ndepends on taking the time to recognize and fulfill your legal obligations as a\nseller while also ensuring that your rights are protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

To help you do both, here are five common\nlegal issues sellers face and tips for dealing with each of them. Here is a tip\nthat will get you off on the right foot: hire an experienced <\/a>real estate attorney<\/a> before putting your house\non the market. It gives your attorney plenty of time to review the deed and\nother documents to ensure that any issues are promptly addressed to prevent\nthem from delaying or standing in the way of closing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rejecting a buyer’s offer for the wrong reasons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You have the right to decide the terms\nyou are willing to accept when selling your home and may reject an offer from a\nbuyer who fails to meet them. There are many reasons to refuse an offer,\nincluding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7         The buyer makes an offer that is less than the asking price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7         The buyer wants to make the sale conditioned on obtaining mortgage\nfinancing, and you have an identical offer from a buyer who does not require a\ncontingency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7         A prospective buyer for your current home cannot close in time to meet\nthe closing date on a home that you are in contract to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sellers can even decide to take their\nhouse off the market. Whatever their reason may be for not selling, it must not\nviolate the federal <\/a>Fair Housing Act<\/a> and similar state laws making\nit unlawful to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, gender\nidentity, sexual orientation, disability, familial status or national origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you refuse to sell your home for a\nreason that violates either the federal or state fair housing laws, you risk\nfines and the payment of damages for your actions. Licensed real estate brokers\nand agents receive training in fair housing practices, know how to show homes\nlisted for sale, negotiate offers with sellers to comply with the law, and prevent\nsellers who may not know or understand the laws from inadvertently violating\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the highest offer may not be the best offer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Someone looks at your home and offers you\nthe full asking price, but they need time to obtain a mortgage to complete the\npurchase. Meanwhile, other buyers offer less money than the first, but they\nrecently sold a home and have enough money in the bank to complete the purchase\nwithout financing. Of course, you want to get the most money for your home, but\nby the time your first buyer\u2019s bank accepts or declines the financing, the\nbuyers with the second offer will be gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good offer may not be the highest one.\nUnderstand the terms of an offer before agreeing to accept it. For example, ask\nwhether a buyer needs financing and insist on seeing a pre-approval letter from\na mortgage lender, so you at least know that the buyer has sufficient income\nand good credit to qualify for a mortgage. This is one of those situations when\na <\/a>real\nestate broker selling your home<\/a> can help by only showing it to\nbuyers with pre-approved financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure the sales agreement protects you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Do not sign a sales agreement with a\nbuyer without having it reviewed by your attorney. A sales agreement prepared\nby real estate agents and brokers are legally enforceable contracts in many\nparts of the country, so do not sign one until it has been reviewed and explained\nto you by your lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the terms of a sales agreement\nthat sellers should be careful about include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7         If the sale is subject to the buyer obtaining mortgage approval, make\ncertain the time to obtain it is as you agreed. For example, you agreed to give\nthe buyer 30 days to get a mortgage, does the wording of the mortgage\ncontingency require that the buyer promptly apply for the loan and make a good\nfaith effort by cooperating with lender requests for documentation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7         Make certain the closing date conforms to your needs. This is\nparticularly important if you are in contract to buy a home to replace the one\nyou are selling. The closing dates of the two transactions need to be\ncoordinated to avoid being unable to complete your purchase on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7         If your buyer needs to sell a home to complete the purchase with you,\nyour attorney will ensure that you understand any language that makes the sales\nagreement subject to the sale of the buyer\u2019s home before you agree to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you sign a sales agreement without\nhaving it reviewed by your attorney, you could be stuck with terms that are not\nin your best interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be honest when filling out disclosure forms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

State and federal laws require that\nsellers disclose the condition of the property being sold. State disclosure\nforms typically require disclosure of the general condition of the home,\nincluding plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems;\ncondition of the roof and foundation; and the presence of insect infestation.\nFederal law requires disclosure of the existence of lead-based paint for houses\nbuilt prior to 1978.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be truthful when completing a disclosure\nform because the buyer is entitled to rely upon it and can sue a seller for\ndamages for misrepresenting the condition of the home. Talk to your attorney\nabout the disclosure before completing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must deliver clear title to the buyer at closing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you satisfied a judgment or paid off a\nmortgage without filing documents to that effect with the county clerk, a title\nsearch conducted for the buyer prior to closing will show the judgment or\nmortgage as a lien against the title. Clearing it can take time and could delay\nclosing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as you hire an attorney to handle\nthe sale of your home, provide them with copies of the deed and title that you\nreceived when you acquired it. This allows your lawyer time to identify and\naddress any title issues before they can delay the closing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The sale of your home need not cause you\nto be anxious and stressed. A little bit of planning and hiring real estate and\nlegal professionals to assist you in the sale of your home can make for a\nhassle-free transaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you are working hard to get your home ready to sell, this may be a good time to take a break and learn about a few of the legal issues that await you. The process of selling a home presents you, the seller, with one legal issue after another that must be addressed and … Continue reading 5 Legal Issues Home Sellers Should be Aware Of<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[26,835,829],"tags":[846,808,59],"yst_prominent_words":[6785,4048,6794,6789,6784,546,2142,1791,6779,6778,796,6788,6795,6787,6490,1455,6791,6786,1111,6790],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5689"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5689"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5691,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5689\/revisions\/5691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5689"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=5689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}