When can I back out of a deal?

Question

Hi BP members,

I am currently in contract with a property. I already had inspections and had the seller make some repairs to be acceptable. With less than 10 days to closing, I just realized that the master bedroom is barely over 100 sqft. The other two are 99 sqft and 77 sqft. Those seem TINY. Is it possible to back out of a deal because of this?

Russell Brazil · Answer

Your job title says real estate agent. Presumably you should understand the contract you wrote up.

Matthew Olszak · Answer

Can you cancel for that reason specifically? No. But if attorney review is still open you can back out for any reason (as unethical and soiling to your reputation as doing so may be), assuming you are using a CAR or the Multiboard contract.

The bigger question is how in the world is this square footage issue possibly a surprise at this point? Did you not actually see the property and verify the room dimensions as it states to do so on all MLS listings?

DJ M. · Answer

Not to rain on your parade or anything, but isnt it your responsibility to know the room dimensions on your property your purchasing? Did you do no DD? I mean, im honestly not even sure how you got to this stage in the process and not be sure of room sizes?

The buck stops with you friend. If you want out, you should be prepared to lose your EMD at a minimum.

I feel bad for the sellers in this situation. As an agent, your supposed to be better than this.

Good luck in resolving this situation.

James O. · Answer

@Russell Brazil @Matthew Olszak

This property is in Indianapolis, so I'm not handling the transaction. The agent said they provide full-service and actually even asked me to step aside and let them handle everything. I pretty much got the message that I was getting too involved. This was before they went to go check the property out. Seemed like everything was going smoothly with the inspections and all. But no one mentioned of how tiny these rooms were I am afraid that this is going to be difficult to rent out.

When can I back out of a deal?

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