Canadian Real Estate Purchase Offer Question

[Stevo Sun]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada...

I just saw the new article above, and I wanted to get a better understanding of what happened here. For those of us in Canada, and maybe some realtors/real estate agents can chime in here, how does the purchase contract actually work? Personally, I was under the impression that if you back out of a deal where you have paid deposit and cleared conditions, you would just lose the deposit. This article makes it seem like you could potentially be on the hook for the difference in the sale price as well. Is this because the buyers in the article refused to pay the deposit even, or is it that you could be on the hook for the difference in sale price also?

Can someone clarify this for me? This happened in BC Canada, I know it might be a bit different in other provinces and territories, but this seems like a contract law issue (ie. breach of contract). I would love to know what the actual liabilities are for backing out of a deal.

[Theresa Harris]

You are on the hook to buy it for the agreed to price or the sellers can come after you as they did in this case.  I bought a property after the buyer failed to show up at closing. In that case, they just lost the deposit (also in BC) as the seller was an older lady who just wanted to sell her place.

[Frank Greg]

@Stevo Sun:

 If you made a seller an offer and seller accepts... and you both execute a contract but then either you (or seller) fails to close... then there is a breach of contract and the defaulting party can be sued for specific performance by the aggrieved. This may also be the case whether or not there is a formally signed or written contract; what is technically required is an offer and an acceptance. Both parties to the contract have a duty to close or risk being sued for a breach.