Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Land deal gone bad at closing options??

With a video camera

Colored individual in the lumber yard!

in the quick read the op posted, my first thought was he has a better offer

I like the way you think.

My spidey senses would say you're [bleep]. But based on the OP it sounds like there were some warnings up front that you chose to look past. Hope he shows up Monday, but doubt it.

Obviously he does have legal title to the property since there is a title company involved. What amazes me is that you agreed to buy it sight unseen except what you say you only saw once from a road that you drove down. That does not seem right to me. Surely there is more to the story. A lot more. You say that your wife is a lawyer, but real estate is not her expertise. OK, I get the expertise part, but basic principles of law are basic principles of law. I don't know what state you are in, but I have some experience with Texas real estate. It is rare, but I have known of two cases of a seller backing out of a transaction before closing. Theoretically, the buyer could have sued the seller for failure to perform as also could the buyer's agent. Also, earnest money would have to be returned per the laws regarding such in your state. The reality is if the seller releases the earnest money, the most likely best thing the buyer can do is walk away and forget it. No, it is not right and all those involved loose, but it is usually not worth a big court fight. Again, it is not right, but something is wrong with this picture from the get go, the way you tell it. I sincerely hope things work out for you Monday. However, I think I would be planning on something different. I'm sorry, but I just cannot quite get my head wrapped around why on God's green earth would you buy something you had never seen, and the seller acting bat-chit crazy as well? Best of luck to you.

If I understand your post he has signed a contract to sell you the property. If so and if your wife is a lawyer why don't you go forthwith into court and ask the judge to enforce the contract? I guess there could be issues such as community property and she didn't sign or a lien on the land. Either you have a contract or you don't. Do you?

I live 6 blocks from where the land is. I onx mapped it and google. The owner took me on a utv tour and showed me the 4 corners surveyed. Took about 10 mins. I drove my wife out there in rain same day in jeep. We stayed on main road. Looked maybe 5 mins. The land was perfect 100 acres of mature tree and two ponds and food plots. That was the last time, I was allowed on it. I know its not been logged or molested. Its been in his family since 1920.

I dont think the title company should of let us close if they were not there. I think his wife is a drama queen and is causing an issue. If need be we will sue them. I just never had anyone back out and not show to closing. He was getting $325,000 free and clear.

Hope it turns out. Sorry but I’d be worried.

The guy we bought our place from tried to take stuff that was included in the sale and then thought we didn’t take possession until 2 weeks after closing. When I caught him trying to take included stuff his response was he didn’t read the contract.🤪

Tick bite sounds legit; bide your time or it may cost you attorney fees.

If he hasn't lied to you yet, I think he'll sign monday. A court would not make a person transfer title to you, but im sure your wife has mentioned specific Performance, damages, erc. He'll sign.

Hope he hasn’t presold the timber out from under you.

Really? You cannot enforce a buy/sell contract? That is the purpose of a contract I thought.

Sure he can. But if OP wants the land and not money damages (which he might not be able to collect) he should see a competent local lawyer about filing a lis pendens ASAP.

Dad made his living with apartments. As a result, I grew up in a house with a lot of real-estate stuff flying in the air. That does not make me an expert by any means, but it does give me at least an emotional cue. After growing up with it, you learn when dinner's going to be peaceful or a $hitstorm. You learn to guess whether the deal is going down or not.

My gut reaction to this is much like the others. The seller's wife is the unseen force driving this thing to go sideways.

Given that the purchase of their new property is contingent on the sale of this, the seller has his balls in a vice. He's going to have to sign or else his house of cards is going to fall. I saw this happen once with a neighbor that was over-extended on his real-estate deals. He damn-near lost the whole kaboodle and this would have undoubtedly triggered a divorce as well. $325K in hand is a powerful incentive.

BTW: before I go further in this, let me just say that when Dad would get a situation like this, his normal instinct would be to walk away from the deal. I'm not saying this is the best way to go; I'm just saying Dad's way of looking at it was that once you see a fin in the water, you get out. You don't wait to see if it is a shark. Mom was, even more, this way, but her reactions were always based on honesty/dishonesty. She would not deal with deceit.

Let me just throw a possible motive into this. This is one I've seen happen. I was involved in a version of this scenario with my ex, Satan, but the motivations were reversed. Seller's wife (we'll call her Jane) has property that has been in the family since 1920. That's easily a pre-marital asset. Seller (Bob) wants to sell it off and move to the big new place nearby. In the midst of all this, somebody whispers to Jane that if she allows the sale of the property, then she loses her pre-marital asset designation on the funds and the whole thing goes into the communal property bucket. Things may or may not be completely kosher in their marriage. Bob may or may not be motivated by this. However, Jane may begin to think Bob is making a play to get half the value of the family farm.

Me? I found myself about 2 years before my separation from Satan going to house showings for no good reason. Satan kept pushing to move even when the house was not as good as the current one. The reason became clear when we separated. I bought the house with assets I'd brought into the marriage. She had not put in a dime. She'd been gunning for the pre-marital assets I'd thrown into the current house. If we bought a new house, she'd now have claim to half. It all came out in our divorce. She kept trying to get what was obviously pre-marital assets assigned to her. Since then, I've seen versions of this show up in other divorce fights. Somebody must have written a book on it. This may be Bob's gambit. Jane may have figured it out.

Henry Seale assumed you had a title search showing a clear title.
I will ask that question.


Do you?

With no contingencies like timber?

How about another move to consider:
Find the plot on the river he is looking at and work a deal to at least avoid your potential tax consequences...

Probably just a combination of cold feet and his being an a-hole.

Guys a nut job. Contact a good RE Attorney and contact your 1031 intermediary for advise if the deal doesnt happen Monday. If your attorney cant spook the guy into closing by threat of sueing for specific performance. Assuming you have a good contract. Your ability to enforce is only as good as your contract. Getting tied upnin a lawsuit for months or years will effect your 1031 so get advise on that. Cleanest way out is to walk away and find another property if possible. If not then your in for a real pain in the butt..

Follow the contracts rules in your jurisdiction. I will also suggest your wife is potentially conflicted out for writing paperwork like she did. NOT a good idea. Read your purchase and sale agreement carefully. That document is THE deal.

Not much can be done before Monday.
Go fishing or some other distraction, no need to tie yourself in knots when you have no control at this point.
With wife in the business, even if not a property attorney she should know someone if it comes to that.
Sounded like they guy was a little odd from initial contact, as written. his odd behavior now may just be who he is.
Also sounds like you may have damages, loss of 1031 benefits. Was seller aware of the 1031 implication?