Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey
Closing?
I am in the mist of purchasing a home. The contracts were drawn and signed. Settlement date should have been on 9/15/03 however it is now the 23rd and still there has been delays because the township has not issued the Certification of Occupancy due to the fact that the seller has to fix yet another thing. I believe that their agent is poorly administrating the process and would like to know what I can do if possible. Currently I'm homeless because I had to give up my apartment thinking that we were going to settle on that day. Is there any compensation I can receive. How long after the stated date on the contract do they have before they're in default? I want to house...what can I do to speed up the process...basically what are my rights?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Closing?
Your rights will vary depending on the municipality. In some cases, the town might issue a temporary certificate of occupancy and allow the conditions to be fixed after closing, within a 30-60 day period. Money can be escrowed to insure that the seller's funds are used to fix the situation to the town's satisfaction. You can always send a time of the essence of letter to force them to close, but with a known violation, neither side would be truly ready willing and able. As a lawyer who sees this situation a lot, i tend to agree with you that a bad broker can cause problems. The brokers make a lot of money in these deals, and the lawyers are paid less than a $1000 each. However, when it reaches this situation, you need to have only the lawyers handle it or nothing will get done. Put pressure on your lawyer, and have him push the other lawyer, not the realtor. Good luck to you. Once you move in you will be happy and forget about all this. Make the people you hired do their job for you, or get new ones!!
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Re: Closing?
The closing date was probably specified in the contract as being a target date, not a fixed date, so you need to do 2 things. First, since the seller is delaying getting the C/O, have your attorney send a Time of The Essence Letter setting a firm closing date. This date cannot be less than 10 business days from the date of mailing, fax, etc. Send it by regular and certified mail. This will allow you to assert a claim for damages (housing costs, possible additional furniture storage costs, etc.) You must appear at the place set for the closing and be ready to close, even if the seller isn't, to make your damage claim valid. Also, check with the Town to see if a temporary C/O can be issued, and escrow any funds necessary to cover the costs of repairs needed to remove the conditions set by the building inspector. Notify the brokers also of the letter and see if they can move things or possibly contribute to the costs necessary to get the C/O.
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