Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Cancel the sale or sue for damages.

Mr. McCormick is an expert on this subject, so my comments should be considered as supplementary and not contradictory:

First, if you don't already know the reason(s) for the delay, you should probably try to find out. If the buyer is represented by a real estate professional, that person should know. Otherwise, try to get some straight answers from the buyer, or possibly the escrow holder.

Next, evaluate your interest in completing the deal. If it's going to take another week for the buyer to close, and you have a pretty favorable deal, then probably your best strategy is to let matters take their course and accept a delayed closing.

Obviously, if you have another buyer ready and able to pay a better price in cash, you'll want to cancel the sale ........ although damages might be hard to prove if you have a better deal waiting.

Finally, if you get involved in litigation, the exact wording of your sales contract with the buyer will be all-important in determining whether you are entitled to a remedy, and what that remedy is. Involve a real-estate lawyer before taking any steps which do, or might, lead to the courthouse.

It depends on whether or not time was of the essence and the reasons that escrow did not close on time. It also depends on whether the escrow was contingent on financing and the buyer did not obtain financing. An attorney has to review the underlying escrow instruction and all of the facts before they could advise you on something like that.