It may have seemed like you found the ideal house to purchase. It was walking distance to great restaurants, cinemas, and stores, close to your children’s school, and priced just right. However, a couple of days later, after the seller signed the real estate contract, you panic and now have buyer’s remorse. So, you must be wondering whether you can legally get out of this contract. Read on to find out.

Backing out of an Accepted Offer

You may decide to back out of buying a house for many reasons, even after signing the agreement. It might be, for example, because of unexpected circumstances or because certain purchase agreement contingencies weren’t met in a timely manner.

If a real estate contract is written or drafted properly, you cannot break it easily. This is mainly because the whole point of writing a real estate contract is to ensure that both parties to the contract are legally bound to execute it. Also, if one party to the contract tries to walk away, they can either be forced to honor the signed agreement or pay a hefty penalty.

Contingencies

The good news is that there are many ways to carefully structure an offer on a property with several “outs” for purchasers at different stages. Note that these are known as contingencies. Some of the typical contingencies in real estate contracts include the following:

Mortgage approval

This is an important contingency. The buyer has to be able to secure mortgage approval. The great thing is that you even have the option to specify mortgage terms and conditions that are very important to you, like “a traditional mortgage with three percent down,” or it could be “a VA home loan that has an interest rate of no more than four percent.

Sale of your Home

Here the buyer has to sell their current home before they can close on the new home. In most cases, home sellers can pursue other offers on the house. Also, if they get one, then the first homebuyer will have to release the contingency. He will have to either go ahead with the home purchase or cancel the real estate deal, letting the new buyer take over.

How you can Cancel Home Purchase Contracts?

Go Through Your Purchase Agreement

This is an important step. You can ask your lawyer or real estate agent to point out to you any cancellation clauses in the contract. Keep in mind that in many US states, all home inspections are done upfront; so, once you sign a purchase offer, then the offer is legally binding.

In contrast, in many states, home inspections often take place after you sign the offer and provide for the return of your deposit in case the purchase offer is canceled because of a home inspection.

Ten Days to Inspect for Lead Paint

You can also ask your lawyer or real estate agent if you would like to or need to cancel the contract during this time period. Ask him how you can do it and which form you have to sign. However, keep in mind that most homes built after 1978 don’t have lead-based paint.