Enforcing purchase contract - seller canceled breaching contract

Greg Gaudet · 2021-02-26T14:26:20-08:00

Aloha all, I’m buying a rental property, half way through escrow (45 day escrow bc I’m using a mortgage since sellers not in a rush). I found the deal off market, but still suggested the seller pay a realtor 1% to walk them through escrow, but he refused. Anyway I'm getting a good price, but it's not the typical 20-30% discount we look for, but I'm making that up by adding value in other creative ways since finding those perfect BRRR deals has been extra tough as the markets gotten even hotter. So I did inspections, found the roof was bad and sent the seller an addendum along with the reports and estimates asking him to share the cost with me (about 20k, out of an 850k+ sale). He responded “I’m not interested in your counter offer, cancel escrow and refund all deposits immediately”. He has already signed cancellation docs (of course I’m not signing, so we’re stuck in limbo for now). I then explained to him that he does not have a contingency, and he is breaching our contract by attempting to cancel simply bc he was offended that I asked for a repair credit. I explained that we both need to agree to cancel at this point, and I have $4k invested in inspections and other DD on his house already, plus conditional loan approval and a low rate locked m, so I’m not interested in canceling. He asked how much I have invested, and what it would take to make me whole if he decided not to sell. I strongly suspect he got a higher offer and wants to cancel to take it. Anyway there’s many more details; but I’m just wandering if anyone has experience with enforcing a contract and performance? Hopefully it won’t come to that, but I know I have a strong case if we have to settle in court... (although hopefully he’ll have to pay my attorneys fees bc if the battle cost 50k that makes the deal much less appealing).

Waylon Zook

Etna Green, IN · Member since 2015 · 207 posts · 157 votes

5y

@Greg Gaudet are you willing to proceed even if the seller does not credit you for repairs ?

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Greg GaudetPro Member

OP

Investor · Pukalani, HI · Member since 2017 · 413 posts · 291 votes

5y

@Waylon Zook

Yep and I made that clear to the seller that we are still proceeding under the terms of our contract.

In fact my inspection period had already lapsed when I made the repair credit request (bc the seller wouldn’t sign the addendum I sent to extend inspection for a few days)

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Waylon Zook

Etna Green, IN · Member since 2015 · 207 posts · 157 votes

5y

@Greg Gaudet im certainly no attorney but i can imagine he will try to sabotage the sell the entire way. If he offers to pay for your costs you may be better off just walking away and focus on the next deal. There is a chance a better deal may come up in the meantime and you are tied up in court.

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Stephen KeigheryBusiness Member

Rental Property Investor · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2018 · 716 posts · 555 votes

5y

@Greg Gaudet you should record your contract with the city. This will cloud the title so he can't sell to somebody else for a period without you agreeing. In Louisiana it is 12 months but your state laws will be different. You could sue for non-performance but not worth it.

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Matthew Paul

Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes

5y

Dont know what your contract says about repairs . But $20K repairs on a $850K purchase seems like cost of doing business to me .

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Joe S.Pro Member

Investor · San Antonio · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:

Dont know what your contract says about repairs . But $20K repairs on a $850K purchase seems like cost of doing business to me .

I agree with what Matthew said. 20,000 on a $850,000 purchase is pretty small. Chances are the seller could’ve got a verbal offer for more than what you are willing to pay or he’s getting cold feet all together.
I have had buyers on some of my properties try to beat me down over small things and sometimes I went for it and sometimes I did not. If I was regretting selling it at a particular price I surely didn’t budge, but if I was happy with the outcome in advance then I usually try to make some sort of goodwill seller concession. Depending on the seller you’re dealing with you could’ve had somebody that’s temperamental or they are faking offense simply to have an excuse to breach the contract.

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Steve K.

Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5y

@Greg Gaudet you could sue for specific performance but it’s rarely worth the time and money, so almost nobody ever does it after looking into it, in my experience at least. Probably not much chance of getting title through a suit, the best you could probably expect would be to recover damages. The measure of damages for breach of contract is generally the amount of money that would place the buyer in the position the buyer would be in if the seller did not default, so if you’re only out the cost of inspection, definitely wouldn’t be worth it. You could also cloud title, I guess, but that’s a pretty lame move, which won’t be likely to get the title conveyed in your name either and might be seen as legal blackmail. I’d try to work through this with the seller however you can but if the shipped has sailed it might just be best to move on to the next deal. I’m obviously not a lawyer, it might be worth consulting one but from what I understand specific performance suits are rare because they typically aren’t worth the time and money and have a low chance of successfully gaining title.

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Greg GaudetPro Member

OP

Investor · Pukalani, HI · Member since 2017 · 413 posts · 291 votes

5y

@Joe S.

Great feedback everyone, thank you. And yes that’s true, I completely forgot I could record the sale with the bureau of conveyances.. I talk to my lawyer about that first.

It’s worth mentioning that the seller lives on the mainland (not here on Maui), and is not your typical distressed seller. He’s a successful businessman, just paid 1.4m for a 5,000 sq ft home as his primary, and owns a vacation rental here also. He’s selling bc he’s sick of being a long distance landlord. And he has also done a few shady things through this process. We have been negotiating since September, almost 6 months. But I think he’s probably been hearing about how hot RE is now, and knows he’s leaving money on the table. But he should also know better than to sign a contract he’s not willing to honor, and he had more than plenty of time to consider my offer.

And one of the really big reasons I don’t want to cancel is because my lender has informed me that mortgage rates have risen everyday since I locked a month ago, and I’d likely be near 1% higher today. Which means even if I found an identical deal tomorrow, it would still cost me anywhere from 20-50k more over the life of the loan/deal. So if he insists on canceling I’m not going to let it go easy. Last factor is that my first and only baby was born two weeks ago, and I don’t want to have to go find another deal, I want to take some time off. And for me right now my time is more valuable than the money, so whatever he offers, my counter is going to be over 6 figures for a buy out. I know this is a long shot, but I think I have leverage. And he knows he could easily sell the house for 950k (100k more - although he’d be paying 60k more in commissions and closing costs), so I’m losing 100k equity if I agree to cancel.

Thanks for your input, and for letting me vent about this frustrating situation!

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Steve K.

Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Greg Gaudet:

@Joe S.

Great feedback everyone, thank you. And yes that’s true, I completely forgot I could record the sale with the bureau of conveyances.. I talk to my lawyer about that first.

It’s worth mentioning that the seller lives on the mainland (not here on Maui), and is not your typical distressed seller. He’s a successful businessman, just paid 1.4m for a 5,000 sq ft home as his primary, and owns a vacation rental here also. He’s selling bc he’s sick of being a long distance landlord. And he has also done a few shady things through this process. We have been negotiating since September, almost 6 months. But I think he’s probably been hearing about how hot RE is now, and knows he’s leaving money on the table. But he should also know better than to sign a contract he’s not willing to honor, and he had more than plenty of time to consider my offer.

And one of the really big reasons I don’t want to cancel is because my lender has informed me that mortgage rates have risen everyday since I locked a month ago, and I’d likely be near 1% higher today. Which means even if I found an identical deal tomorrow, it would still cost me anywhere from 20-50k more over the life of the loan/deal. So if he insists on canceling I’m not going to let it go easy. Last factor is that my first and only baby was born two weeks ago, and I don’t want to have to go find another deal, I want to take some time off. And for me right now my time is more valuable than the money, so whatever he offers, my counter is going to be over 6 figures for a buy out. I know this is a long shot, but I think I have leverage. And he knows he could easily sell the house for 950k (100k more - although he’d be paying 60k more in commissions and closing costs), so I’m losing 100k equity if I agree to cancel.

Thanks for your input, and for letting me vent about this frustrating situation!

I would just proceed to closing. Make sure funds are delivered the day before and that you adhere to the contract on your end so there's nothing that would put you in default as the buyer. I know every state is different but in CO the seller doesn't really have an out unless the buyer defaults/doesn't close on the agreed upon date and time. I've heard stories of funds being delayed and not being delivered by the time of closing, and the sellers kept the earnest money then sold the property to somebody else later the same day. Bad faith move for sure, but totally legal apparently as the buyer was in default the second funds weren't delivered by the date and time specified. I wouldn't think the change in loan interest rates or fluctuation of property value during the contract time period would be considered material damages for you if he were to breach the contract, as you would only need to be made whole to your position before the contract was executed. But again I'm not a lawyer. I'd be interested to hear what your lawyer has to say about this. Curious to see how it works out. Good luck!

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Greg GaudetPro Member

OP

Investor · Pukalani, HI · Member since 2017 · 413 posts · 291 votes

5y

Originally posted by @Steve K.:

Originally posted by @Greg Gaudet:

@Joe S.

Great feedback everyone, thank you. And yes that’s true, I completely forgot I could record the sale with the bureau of conveyances.. I talk to my lawyer about that first.

It’s worth mentioning that the seller lives on the mainland (not here on Maui), and is not your typical distressed seller. He’s a successful businessman, just paid 1.4m for a 5,000 sq ft home as his primary, and owns a vacation rental here also. He’s selling bc he’s sick of being a long distance landlord. And he has also done a few shady things through this process. We have been negotiating since September, almost 6 months. But I think he’s probably been hearing about how hot RE is now, and knows he’s leaving money on the table. But he should also know better than to sign a contract he’s not willing to honor, and he had more than plenty of time to consider my offer.

And one of the really big reasons I don’t want to cancel is because my lender has informed me that mortgage rates have risen everyday since I locked a month ago, and I’d likely be near 1% higher today. Which means even if I found an identical deal tomorrow, it would still cost me anywhere from 20-50k more over the life of the loan/deal. So if he insists on canceling I’m not going to let it go easy. Last factor is that my first and only baby was born two weeks ago, and I don’t want to have to go find another deal, I want to take some time off. And for me right now my time is more valuable than the money, so whatever he offers, my counter is going to be over 6 figures for a buy out. I know this is a long shot, but I think I have leverage. And he knows he could easily sell the house for 950k (100k more - although he’d be paying 60k more in commissions and closing costs), so I’m losing 100k equity if I agree to cancel.

Thanks for your input, and for letting me vent about this frustrating situation!

I would just proceed to closing. Make sure funds are delivered the day before and that you adhere to the contract on your end so there's nothing that would put you in default as the buyer. I know every state is different but in CO the seller doesn't really have an out unless the buyer defaults/doesn't close on the agreed upon date and time. I've heard stories of funds being delayed and not being delivered by the time of closing, and the sellers kept the earnest money then sold the property to somebody else later the same day. Bad faith move for sure, but totally legal apparently as the buyer was in default the second funds weren't delivered by the date and time specified. I wouldn't think the change in loan interest rates or fluctuation of property value during the contract time period would be considered material damages for you if he were to breach the contract, as you would only need to be made whole to your position before the contract was executed. But again I'm not a lawyer. I'd be interested to hear what your lawyer has to say about this. Curious to see how it works out. Good luck!

Thanks Steve! We can't close unless he agrees. He already informed escrow to cancel the sale, and he signed the cancelation docs. Of course I did not sign, so escrow is still open. But he has to agree not to cancel and then sign the closing docs.

Hawaii is the same, the seller cannot cancel, and my one page contract does not give him a contingency to cancel on. I'm shocked that he even thought he could (again, this isn't an uneducated distressed seller, he's very well off and successful). If a seller could just cancel at any time like that, then what's the point of a contract anyway, right?

The only way he could cancel is if I default, like not having my funds in on time like you said. But having been a transaction coordinator for one of the top 100 brokers, I have a great habit of making sure I don't miss any of my contract dates so I have been on time with everything and have upheld the contract.

Hopefully he does the right thing. I spoke to him Thursday and he said he'd let me know Friday what he decided. I texted him today asking if I could inform escrow we're ready to proceed.. no response. So not looking too good so far.

I only spoke to my attorney briefly, but he did say that when I sue him we will be seeking damages, which could include lost equity. Although I don't know how much that might entail yet.

Will report back, thanks everyone!

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Steve K.

Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5y

Not legal advice, not a lawyer and have no experience in this realm, however based on the info you've shared it sounds like you may have a good case, theoretically at least. If the seller is just failing to perform/changing his mind, that's obviously not the way it's supposed to work. Like you said what would be the point of a contract if the seller can just breach it at their own discretion?

I'm always curious about this because there have been a few times when I've known sellers wanted out, especially recently when properties are going way up in value just during the contract time period and sellers often have multiple back up offers waiting in the wings trying to snake the deal. But whenever I bring it up, more experienced people than me always say specific performance is not practical financially because it can take 1-3 years on average, sometimes longer, costs 10-20k+ in attorney fees, cash to close needs to be put into escrow and sit there while litigation proceeds so there's an opportunity cost to tying up all that cash, serving the seller/getting them to cooperate can be difficult, they may let the property condition deteriorate, judges rarely force a sale, etc... I believe more often than not folks end up deciding it's better to move on and use the money on finding a different property, but this doesn't seem right. I'd be inclined to file just based on principle. I believe filing itself isn't too expensive and puts Lis Pendens on the property which stops any sale to another party. A letter from an attorney explaining all this to the seller and trying to get them back to the table might be a logical first step prior to filing a suit. If your contract is only one page I'm assuming you're not using a standard state-approved form (ours is 18 pages), so a lot will probably depend on the wording of it. If it doesn't address things like liquidated damages, specific performance remedies, etc. I imagine it will come down to how state law applies when a contract doesn't address certain things and what the defaults are. He may be hoping to weasel out by saying the contract is not legally binding/ unenforceable. My guess is he's weighing his options now and hoping you'll just give up. Opening a suit would cloud title and at least make him come to the table instead of just going dark, but that would basically be a stop gap measure, essentially a bluff unless you're actually willing to wait a long time and tie up a lot of money to reach a resolution. I've also heard clouding title can harm ones reputation so there may be collateral damage there. Anyway I'd be curious what you find out as you get further into the process.

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Clint Votruba

Member since 2019 · 92 posts · 56 votes

5y

Let me play devils advocate here.

"@Greg Gaudet are you willing to proceed even if the seller does not credit you for repairs ?"

You: "Yep and I made that clear to the seller that we are still proceeding under the terms of our contract."

If you did not put that in writing with evidence that you sent it to him, he'll deny you ever said it and that you demanded the credit after the inspection period expired.

You: In fact my inspection period had already lapsed when I made the repair credit request (bc the seller wouldn’t sign the addendum I sent to extend inspection for a few days)"

Again, if the home inspection period expired, then why did you make the request for repairs knowing that the contingency expired? He can make the argument that YOU breached the Contract unless you said something like "Although the continency period expired and I have no contractual right to ask for a credit, I think it would be fair for you to give me this credit." Otherwise, a request for repairs would imply that you could/would walk if he doesn't agree to give you a credit.

Did you ask for the credit verbally or in writing? Putting it in writing might hurt you here.

I like the advice given to you by others here.

A letter from an attorney

explaining all this to the seller (but not that you made the mistakes above) and that

Buyer wants no repairs and that

Buyer is proceeding to closing and

if seller does not agree to close, steps will be taken to make sure his Agent cannot advertise the property for sale and he will not be able to transfer clear title to any other buyer.

Some/many Sellers need to see this in writing from an attorney to be told what will/might happen if he does not close.

Good luck.

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Damaso Bautista

Rental Property Investor · Hawthorne, CA · Member since 2018 · 655 posts · 900 votes

5y

@Greg Gaudet

I'll play the other side as well:

If the seller is a well funded person who doesn't care about the money he is losing, then he may just wait you out. He will get his high priced lawyer to counter your every move, keep extending the court date if it ever gets that far. He keeps possession of the house and fights you tooth and nail.

A game of chicken to see who bleeds out first.

Whoever has the biggest bank account will come out the winner.

I hope this is not the case but may be what the sellers play is.

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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member

Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Stephen Keighery:

@Greg Gaudet you should record your contract with the city. This will cloud the title so he can't sell to somebody else for a period without you agreeing. In Louisiana it is 12 months but your state laws will be different. You could sue for non-performance but not worth it.

Very rare on the west coast that the recorder will record said contract. it has to be notarized plus if an attorney gets ahold of it and you slander their title your in for a world of hurt.. may in your market but in most thats a bad play.

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Stephen KeigheryBusiness Member

Rental Property Investor · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2018 · 716 posts · 555 votes

5y

Interesting Jay. I am surprised you would be in for a world of hurt for clouding a title by recording a valid title. What grounds can someone come at you for that?

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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member

Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Steve K.:

Originally posted by @Greg Gaudet:

@Joe S.

Great feedback everyone, thank you. And yes that’s true, I completely forgot I could record the sale with the bureau of conveyances.. I talk to my lawyer about that first.

It’s worth mentioning that the seller lives on the mainland (not here on Maui), and is not your typical distressed seller. He’s a successful businessman, just paid 1.4m for a 5,000 sq ft home as his primary, and owns a vacation rental here also. He’s selling bc he’s sick of being a long distance landlord. And he has also done a few shady things through this process. We have been negotiating since September, almost 6 months. But I think he’s probably been hearing about how hot RE is now, and knows he’s leaving money on the table. But he should also know better than to sign a contract he’s not willing to honor, and he had more than plenty of time to consider my offer.

And one of the really big reasons I don’t want to cancel is because my lender has informed me that mortgage rates have risen everyday since I locked a month ago, and I’d likely be near 1% higher today. Which means even if I found an identical deal tomorrow, it would still cost me anywhere from 20-50k more over the life of the loan/deal. So if he insists on canceling I’m not going to let it go easy. Last factor is that my first and only baby was born two weeks ago, and I don’t want to have to go find another deal, I want to take some time off. And for me right now my time is more valuable than the money, so whatever he offers, my counter is going to be over 6 figures for a buy out. I know this is a long shot, but I think I have leverage. And he knows he could easily sell the house for 950k (100k more - although he’d be paying 60k more in commissions and closing costs), so I’m losing 100k equity if I agree to cancel.

Thanks for your input, and for letting me vent about this frustrating situation!

I would just proceed to closing. Make sure funds are delivered the day before and that you adhere to the contract on your end so there's nothing that would put you in default as the buyer. I know every state is different but in CO the seller doesn't really have an out unless the buyer defaults/doesn't close on the agreed upon date and time. I've heard stories of funds being delayed and not being delivered by the time of closing, and the sellers kept the earnest money then sold the property to somebody else later the same day. Bad faith move for sure, but totally legal apparently as the buyer was in default the second funds weren't delivered by the date and time specified. I wouldn't think the change in loan interest rates or fluctuation of property value during the contract time period would be considered material damages for you if he were to breach the contract, as you would only need to be made whole to your position before the contract was executed. But again I'm not a lawyer. I'd be interested to hear what your lawyer has to say about this. Curious to see how it works out. Good luck!

First did you use a board of realtor contract almost all of them have mandatory mediation for disputes like this.

a very good RE broker will know your position if you asked for a credit they denied it I simply think you say OK I am going to close then. no harm asking. Your not out of contract at least thats my thought.

those that would cloud title .. as Steve said total bush league move and more done in low value areas with unsophisticated sellers.

If the seller does not close then you need to have all your money in escrow on the date of the closing and leave it there while you litigate.

I went through this in Oregon.. 150k plus sitting in escrow for almost 2 years plus 30k in legal fee's I won.. and the only reason I did it is we released 40k and they would not close. plus we had whopper up side.. We built 3 new constructions.

So for all the arm chair lawyers on BP suing for performance is much more detailed.. clouding title is BS in my mind.. And most contracts have a mandatory mediation clause and most deals get worked out in mediation.

Now if you have a well to do seller they may not care as much as others.

Good luck with it.

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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member

Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Stephen Keighery:

Interesting Jay. I am surprised you would be in for a world of hurt for clouding a title by recording a valid title. What grounds can someone come at you for that?

You dont have a valid title. you have a purchase contract and in our area you have to have specific language that allows it to be recorded and the sellers sigs notarized.. I dont see many purchase contracts with notarized sigs.. Slander of title is very real..

Now when I do option agreements we clearly state we are going to record them and the seller signs.. that will cloud the title.. I had one last year a property I optioned for 5.5 million and about 1.5 million in cash in it.. and the seller gets an offer for 9 million and wants to kick us to the curb and just give us our 1.5 million back.. but he could not clear title.. so I get it.. But there are right ways to do it and wrong ways.

and in the low value asset distressed SFR space with home owners who are very unsophisticated not the way I do things.. I know the game I funded 1000 plus deals in Jackson MS so saw all of these tactics.. But west coast and Hawaii different ball game

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Greg GaudetPro Member

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Investor · Pukalani, HI · Member since 2017 · 413 posts · 291 votes

5y

@Steve K.

We have similar thoughts. My attorney did say I have a very strong case, but that won’t be needed bc the seller came to his senses and agreed to rescind his cancellation!

I suspect the reason was that he was not aware of the HARPTA withholding (for non Hawaii residents, the state withholds 7.25% of proceeds to make sure you pay HI taxes).

My 1 page contract does cover damages, specific performance, etc. But my attorneys helped me write it, and told me that the HAR contract is 14 pages so that everything is included in it, but most of those terms are standard Hawaii RE law. So having them in the contract isn’t completely necessary.

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Greg GaudetPro Member

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Investor · Pukalani, HI · Member since 2017 · 413 posts · 291 votes

5y

@Clint Votruba

To clarify, the inspection took significantly longer than usual due to the market. I sent an addendum requesting to extend the inspection contingency, but the seller refused to sign it. So my hands were kinda tied.. couldn’t force him to give me more time. And couldn’t really request a credit without knowing what was needed. Honestly he didn’t even know it expired.. he has no clue what he’s doing in RE.

My lawyers did review all of the docs and communication/emails and confirmed I have a very strong case. They advised me to pursue, amd had a demand letter breaking down nearly 200k in damages.

Thankfully he rescinded the cancellation so we won’t need to deal with any of that - what a relief!

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Greg GaudetPro Member

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Investor · Pukalani, HI · Member since 2017 · 413 posts · 291 votes

5y

@Damaso Bautista

That’s what I was worried about too. But he would need major motivation to invest that much into dragging it out. And my lawyer was adamant that we’d have a good chance of having him pay all attorney costs if/when we won.

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Greg GaudetPro Member

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Investor · Pukalani, HI · Member since 2017 · 413 posts · 291 votes

5y

@Jay Hinrichs

Thanks Jay! Yeah in Hawai’i I believe anyone can submit docs to the bureau for recording.

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Greg GaudetPro Member

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Investor · Pukalani, HI · Member since 2017 · 413 posts · 291 votes

5y

@Jay Hinrichs

Thanks for your feedback Jay!

I typically do not use the HI HAR contract. My attorneys advised me that almost everything in that PC is standard HI RE law, and applies even if it's not in the contract. Also, in Hawai, escrow will automatically send the parties to mediation if they don't resolve after 14 days (but this gets funded by buyers EMD so I wanted to avoid it unless absolutely necessary)

Would love to meet you if you ever come back out to Maui!

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Martin NealPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 293 posts · 383 votes

5y

@Greg Gaudet if you got the property for much less than what it’s worth, you have to re-run your numbers and decide whether you can make the deal work without any seller credits. He’s not obligated to give you credits but is obligated to close within the agreed upon time. You have no wiggle room. You will not be granted extensions by the seller if your suspicion is correct. Good luck.

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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member

Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Greg Gaudet:

@Jay Hinrichs

Thanks for your feedback Jay!

I typically do not use the HI HAR contract. My attorneys advised me that almost everything in that PC is standard HI RE law, and applies even if it's not in the contract. Also, in Hawai, escrow will automatically send the parties to mediation if they don't resolve after 14 days (but this gets funded by buyers EMD so I wanted to avoid it unless absolutely necessary)

Would love to meet you if you ever come back out to Maui!

we will be back End of April not sure if we will make it to Maui.. but will be in Honolulu !! its a short trip..

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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member

Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Greg Gaudet:

@Jay Hinrichs

Thanks Jay! Yeah in Hawai’i I believe anyone can submit docs to the bureau for recording.

I never heard a county recorders office be called a Bureau.. and yes we can record anything but with real estate contracts our recorders want notarized sigs of the owner.. So as to keep what the other person was talking about from happening Anyone just recording some contract just to try to cloud title. I mean really think about it .. someone wanted to be malicious and they just go record some memorandum you never signed and notarized against one of your properties.. and you go to refi or sell. and your like WTF is this.. its real estate Ransom wear..

I have had it happen to me in the lending world where bad person will go record a deed of trust and record it with them as beneficiary right before my loan records and then I have a title claim and the title company has to pay that deed off to clear my title then go after the bad person.

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Enforcing purchase contract - seller canceled breaching contract

Enforcing purchase contract - seller canceled breaching contract

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