Who is responsible for hotel costs if I’m involuntarily displaced during a home sale/purchase?
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Who is responsible for hotel costs if I’m involuntarily displaced during a home sale/purchase?
I just recently sold my old home and purchased a new one. I was expecting to be able to move into my new home the day I had to hand over the keys to my old home. This was not the case. My agent told me that the current owner of the home I purchased was entitled to live there for another month, and that I’d have to stay in a hotel for the duration. The agent paid for less than half of the hotel costs, and the rest was paid by me 1.5k. At no point did my agent discuss this with me, I was not aware of any specific dates that were laid out in the contract. During our meeting with the lender, my agent mentioned she was covering for someone else who works with small properties, and she usually works with larger properties for big businesses. This comment now makes me wonder if she knew what she was doing. Is the agent liable for all of these extra hardships on me during this process?
Asked on May 31, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
Were the dates in the contract? If they were, then you are responsible for your own costs, since if they were in the contract you signed, you agreed to these dates. It's not the case that you have to made aware of the dates (or any other terms in the contract) by the agent or anyone else: the law expects people to read and understand their own contracts, and holds them to what they contractually agreed to.
If different dates were in the contract and the seller is violating the terms of the contract, then the seller is responsible due to his or her breach of contract and you can sue the seller (e.g. in small claims court) for your costs.
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