Can I walk away from a land contract on a house without repercussions?

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Can I walk away from a land contract on a house without repercussions?

I haven’t told our landlords yet. I
don’t have any money right now to
pay for answers.

Asked on September 15, 2017 under Real Estate Law, Indiana

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

You can't walk away from any contract without repurcussions unless on of the following applies:
1) There is some contingency or clause in the contract itself allowing you out under certain circumstances, and you fully comply with the requirements or conditions of that provision.
2) The other side breaches (violates) the contract in some material (or important) way (e.g. cannot actually transfer clean title because of liens; cannot sell you what they contracted to, because there is another owner not agreeing to the sale; cannot close on time; etc.): a material breach of contract allows the other, non-breaching party to treat the contract as terminated by the breach.
3) A law is enacted preventing the transaction--e.g. zoning, etc. is changed in some way that you cannot buy or use the land.
4) The object of the sale is effectively destroyed through no fault of yours: e.g. a nearby chemical plant has a toxic leak which spreads to this land and makes it uninhabitable.
5) The seller provably committed fraud, or knowingly lied to you about something important to get you to enter into the transaction: e.g. the land is in a flood plain, but they did not disclose that. Fraud can void a contract.
Other than as the above, you are obligated on the contract.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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