Backing out of a contract when no earnest money has been deposited in escrow.
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Backing out of a contract when no earnest money has been deposited in escrow.
I’m a realtor and I wrote an offer for a client yesterday but seller has not
responded to our offer. No earnest money has been deposited in escrow. No signed
contract by the sellers. My client found out that because he hasn’t owned his
house for 2 years he would have to pay capital gains in order to make this
purchase. How can we cancel this contract? Thank you
Asked on April 8, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Nevada
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You client can't unilaterally cancel the contract, even if no earnest money has been deposited: once they send the offer over to the seller, it is in the seller's court, and if the seller elects to accept it, a contract is formed.
But an offer does not have to stay open indefinitely: your client, through you, can give the seller another 24 hours to accept or not (give them written notice, by email or fax, so you can prove they got it). If they don't accept by then, the offer will be deemed withdrawn. You have to give them a warning that the offer will be withdrawn and some reasonable time to accept if they choose to.
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