Colorado Real Estate, Part II
I thought I would take this moment to update everyone on what has happened since my last post where we stated that the buyers of our home had walked away, after we moved out. Well, two days after that happened, I got an urgent call from my agent saying that the buyers had changed their minds, and were still willing to close. It came out that they buyers didn’t have any issues with the home, but rather they were having issues with each other (blending two families together), and that we were caught in the middle and we paid the price. For all this, we had to do some contract amendments, of which they had the gall to put in it that we had to mow the lawn and pull the weeds.
We had planned on taking all week originally to get the yard in shape, clean the house, do paint touch ups, etc. But when they pulled out, our emotions were high, so we didn’t do much for a couple of days. So now we had less than 24 hours to do everything we were going to do in a week. Well, to get the deal done, and to prevent these people from changing their minds again, we did it. Of course, when they did the final walk through right before closing, they continued to be arrogant. We were not there, but I had my agent there. She told us the lady was literally on her hands and knees in the basement checking for smells, among many other things she did.
In the end, we did close. They had us in seperate rooms, and we never saw each other. I have done dozens of closings, both personal and business, and I have never seen anything like this before. I have always taken pride in the past, and have walked the buyers through the home showing them all the ins and outs of how it works, what the plants in the yard are, etc. Not this time. I wonder if they figured out I turned off the sprinkler system?
What it comes down to, from talking to real estate agents and attorneys, is that Colorado Real Estate law is written totally around protection of the buyers. Buyers can legally walk at any time, and the only thing sellers can get is the earnest money deposit, and have to fight for that! I am all for buyers being able to walk in certain circumstances, such as the home has to appraise properly, the buyer has to get funding, and they must approve the inspection report – for major issues. But being able to walk, simply because a buyer changes their mind should not be able to happen, and in other states it does not happen. This is a contract, and when you enter a contract, you should be expected to complete that contract. Sellers incur a lot of expense in preparing a home for sale, and usually must move out before the home closes, putting themselves at great financial risk. There needs to be protection that buyers simply cannot walk because they changed their mind.
In the end, it all worked out. But we went through the emotional ringer. Now though, we can look forward to moving forwards, settling into our new place, and hopefully building a new home if financing gets easier again.
