Reader,
🎃 Back from the Dead
The trouble started with a recorded easement. The buyers learned about it during the transaction and didn’t want to proceed with the easement, described by a title attorney as the worst easement they've ever read, attached to their property. The sellers proposed a solution that involved giving the neighbor the property which would leave the buyers with less acreage.
The buyers had limited money, needed somewhere to live, and couldn’t afford to waste time. They wanted to move on and find another house.
So they terminated.
Unfortunately, they skipped a few steps.
Under their contract, the buyers had the right to object to title, and the sellers had until closing to satisfy the objection. Finding the easement didn’t give the buyers an immediate right to terminate.
By terminating before the sellers’ time to perform expired, the buyers put themselves in default—and their earnest money at risk.
The seller would not sign the earnest money release so the buyer side asked me to write a 10 day letter to give them back their earnest money. My response was not well received. If I wrote a letter, it would be the buyer who defaulted.
The buyer side was understandably frustrated. The buyers hadn’t created the easement. They didn’t like the proposed solution. They needed a house. How could they end up in default?
I understood why they wanted out. But the contract had a procedure for addressing this problem. The buyers needed to follow it to protect themselves.
They could object to title and give the sellers the opportunity the contract required to satisfy that objection. They could also try to negotiate a mutual termination so everyone could move on.
Instead, they sent the termination while the sellers still had time to perform.
After a misstep, they did thoughtfully assess their situation and opted for resurrection.
What happened in the end?
The parties reinstated and worked to find a solution.
They almost got there.
The neighbor initially agreed to release the easement. But then he decided he would channel his inner Perry Mason and sent a War and Peace–length diatribe that read like the result of Black’s Law Dictionary and an AI bot procreating.
This time, the buyers waited until the seller actually defaulted, got their earnest money back, and found another house.
Not a storybook ending, but this is not a week for fairy tales.
Read before you terminate.
The buyers’ concern about the easement drove both attempts to end this transaction. Following the contract’s procedure made the difference the second time.
Slow down when your client calls, upset and ready to cancel. You may agree with every complaint. You may have spent the entire afternoon trying to fix the problem. You may desperately want to help them move on.
Before you send the termination, pull out the contract.
What gives your client the right to terminate? What notice must they give? Does the other party still have time to cure? Has the deadline actually passed?
If you’re unsure, involve your broker. If your client needs legal advice about their termination rights, they should consult their own attorney.
These buyers got a second chance because the sellers agreed to reinstate. That required cooperation that was not guaranteed.
Sharing the misery serves a purpose. We tell each other these stories because we need to vent, because some details deserve an audience, and because we might save someone else from repeating the experience.
If you’ve ever had to resurrect a transaction, I’d love to hear it. Reply with your story, leave out identifying details, and tell me whether I may share it in a future newsletter or class.
Happy Halloween. May your contracts rest in peace only when you’re finished with them.
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Stay Smart,
Cheryl Conner King
Founder & Instructor
REALsmart Real Estate School
Attorney | REALTOR® | CE Instructor
📍 Based in Georgia | Teaching Statewide
