As you probably remember our original closing date that they signed for was July 11th and that didn't work out for them. They told me it was just an arbitrary date that people make up and that if I knew anything about buying houses I would know that.
Then the seller said he would be out by Aug 1st, (e:paul,4585) but then changed that quickly changed to to August 4th which is today. If I had known it was going to take this long, I would have never purchased this house. If he originally had said it would be the end of August before closing I would have simply said, oh we are looking for a house sooner and that we were not interested but the seller tricked us and strung us along every bit of the way. I can never believ anything he says because it changes every time.
So today I get a contract for early occupancy at 10am and was all excited like it was really going to happen. I mean it isn't closing but at least we could get in an d start cleaning before winter!
Paul, please make a total of four copies and sign all copies. Take to the seller when you meet them today and give them all copies to sign. Keep two and they keep two. Any questions, let me know.
I called the seller and asked when he wanted to meet and sign it. He said he was busy with his attorney and would get back to me later.
By 2PM I get no call from the seller, but another contract as they decided not to go through with it unless it is changed so that we have to have a half million in liability and that the date got pushed back fro Aug 5th to Aug 6th. We previously had $300,000.
Paul here's the agreement. Make 4 copies, sign all copies and take with you when you obtain the keys. Make sure you do a final inspection! If there is anything wrong, do not accept the keys. Per the Agreement you are taking the premises as if you closed on it.
Also if you can ask your agent to email the insurance binder and receipt to me, I can forward on to the sellers' attorney.
Mind you it is like 2PM on Friday and I now need to get ahold of an insurance company and get a new binder. No to mention that I drove to Williamsville to pick up the original one. Thank god they were able to squeeze a binder for a half million out of the insurance office as a miracle I think. But there is no way I could get them the binder that fast. She will have to wait to get it on Sunday.
Then 4:00PM rolls aorund and they decide they also want us to pay taxes at $13.63 per day till closing. Now I realize that its his house and he is not living there, but if they hadn't fucked up the closing I would be paying my own taxes and my own mortgage instead of rent to my landlord and his fucking taxes.
The Kicker -
Then at around 5:30 I notice that the contract says they have permission to enter or prremises anytime without warning until the closing, which they have now delayed until the end of the monthISH when they can finally find or get new papers for the paperwork they lost that was causing title issues.
So I decide to call his attorney to ask about the wording. I mean if she had gotten our lawyer the title and search when she was supposed to, we would have had plenty of time to get the proper title documents so I thought maybe she would feel a little guilty. The other day when we were there and told Don about how our lawyer said they need documents that were not there, he said that it was just a minor glitch and that Florence (his attroney) was on top of it. Fucking minor glitch that is going to take weeks to rectify.
So back to the topic. I ask the woman if we could get it changed to be "entry with notice." She explains to me that she knows him so well and that he is great and that it is no problem. Then I asked why he would need to "Enter without notice" and she said she isn't interested in discussion it and she doesn't need to justify herself to me. Why should he have unlimited free reign over my stuff. It just makes no sense that it cannot be "with notice." I didn't even ask for "with consent." Just "with notice."
Our "lawyer" provides about as much feedback as a mute person with no arms. And lots of other people have given me their experience and feedback but what I really need is an attorney who will stand up for me for once. I want so bad to just not buy the house.
So anyhow, I wrote this letter to my attorney, but considering that it is the weekend I really don't excect a response.
Friday 8:37PM
Jackie,
This is a kind of critical issue.
4. The sellers right to enter and inspect clause says the seller has the right to entry and inspection of the property with or without notice.
It makes me nervous that he has the right to enter without notice. I tried to get a hold of Don about this but I couldn't so I tried calling his attorney directly to ask if we could change the wording. She told me that she trusts Don Mayer and has know him for years.
I then asked if we could just change it to entry "with notice" and she said that she is doing me a favor and has no interest in making any changes. When I asked her why he would need to enter without notice she just said she didn't have to justify herself to me. That was pretty much the end of the conversation.
Is there any way to negotiate this?
Paul
I wish you luck. If it was me the second that they didn't have the papper work that said the had bought the house from the church I would have pulled out of the deal and said fuck it and he wouldn't have gotton a dime. As someone else said I think he dosn't want to sell it you. To me it seems that he has changed his mind and just wants to make it diffacult on you. My response to the we can walk in at anytime would have been ok fine I know you but none of the people I live with do, and none of there friends know you either so if one of them caves his head in with a pipe it isn't my fault they thought you where breaking in.
I'm definitely with (e:kara):
Say fine to the weird entry without notice clause.
Then change all the locks.
"Sure, you can enter without notice, but I just need you to call me first so I can unlock the door, ok?"
You're not violating any terms, right? Nope.
Possession is indeed nine tenths of the law. He's got no need to be coming back in there.
(e:zobar) is right about invoking "time is of the essence" that it means the other lawyer is fucked. But so what. Your lawyer isn't supposed to fuck you over to make the seller's lawyer's life easier.
If your lawyer won't do it, get another lawyer. The lawyer works for you. You, (e:paul), are the client. Your lawyer is supposed to be a zealous advocate for you.
You want to invoke time is of the essence, it is your lawyer's legal obligation to do so. If he or she doesn't do, your lawyer could be disbarred for ignoring your instructions.
You don't work for the lawyer, the lawyer works for you.
To some extent, I almost agree with (e:boxerboi) - it's almost not worth it. Unfortunately, I doubt that it would be difficult for the seller to find another buyer.
Re: (e:uncutsaniflush) - my lawyer buddy informs me that when one lawyer tells another lawyer that 'time is of the essence,' it means the other lawyer is basically kind of fucked. That'll really only work if your lawyer will do it for you, of course, but you may try dropping the phrase on her just to let her know that you're losing patience.
I don't know whether it's a wise idea or not, but if you want me to talk to my lawyer buddy, he might be able to recommend a better lawyer for you.
- Z
kind of makes me want to rent forever.
I can say is "what the fuck?"
Enter without notice is completely out of line. If you want to be paranoid, here's a thought, the seller doesn't trust you so he wants to make a surprise visit so he can find a reason to not only get out of the deal but fuck you over financially.
I think the seller doesn't really want to sell to *YOU*
If the seller hadn't already moved out, my advice to you would have been to invoke "time is of the essence" and walk away from the deal when the closing didn't happen because of title problems.
Since the seller has moved out and has said that he might allow you to move in early, a judge might see the seller making a "good faith" effort to close in a timely fashion and minimalize the inconvenience that you might experience because of the unbelievely late closing date.
I'm a bit of hot head and a worry wart when it comes to real estate closing so perhaps you shouldn't pay attention to anything I say.
But I would have told the mofo on July 11 (the scheduled closing date) that I'm invoking time is of the essence. And the deal wouldn't have happened.
But I would have been ok with that - my thinking is that no deal is so sweet that you can't walk away from it when the other side is trying to fuck you over. Peace of mind is mind is priceless.
But that is just me.
ps I think you have a very useless lawyer. Lawyers should talk to lawyers. I still don't understand why you are talking to the seller and the his lawyer at all. It just seems very weird to me.
Good luck.
Can you just change the locks and set up a security system to which this chucklehead does not have access? Possession = 9/10ths of the law and all that. . .
omg paul. I don't even know what to say.
but here's one thing-
they can't give you 4 copies of an agreement? you have to find a copier and make them yourself? minor point, agreed- but ridiculous nonetheless.
I've never bought anything more expensive than a laptop, but man this seems like its more trouble than its worth. Have you considered pulling out all together and just waiting to find another house? The hurdles they are throwing in your way are getting ridiculous and you don't deserve to have to deal with this shit. I say fuck him over and pull out if you can.