Seller Will Not Honor Contract And Give Us Occupancy
We closed on our house on the 9th of January. The Contract to Purchase written through a real estate agency specifies occupancy 30 days after closing. The seller is refusing to honor this, and will not pay rent for any time she remains in the house after this period. I have sent a certified letter spelling out the contract and she has not picked up the letter at the post office. I live in Ohio. Do I need to wait until the 9th of February to start eviction proceedings? Is there anything I can do before the 9th? We have to be out of our present house and this seller's stubborn disregard of the contract is causing us financial difficulties and mental anguish. The real estate agents dumped this whole mess in my lap once they got their commission checks at closing. 
The seller cannot remain in the house after the 30 days, period. I assume by your comment that you do not live in the same town as the property, if this is the case you should get an attorney in the town the property is located.
On the 9th of Feb, file for eviction, also file an additional lawsuit for damages suffered by you for breach of contract.
I would also inform the seller that you intend to do this and tell them that you will sue them for at least $10,000 for breach of contract.
Again, get an attorney, do NOT try to go this one yourself.
[addsig]
Thank you for your help. I do live in the same town, and I will be hiring an attorney. What I gather is though, I can file for eviction but I must wait to do that until after the 30 days are up, and that is when we are supposed to be in the house. She still gets an additional 30 days. I will definitely be filling monetary damages, but I doubt I will ever see the money.
Quote:
I will definitely be filling monetary damages, but I doubt I will ever see the money.
Don't forget about asking/filing for a possible garnishment of wages!
eric
Definately get an attorney that specializes in tenant/landlord and evictions. But also try an old landlord trick. Get a letter from the attorney and knock on the door. Be nice but stern. Tell her you are filing for eviction and damages. But it will cost you up from to do this because of the attorney and court cost, but of course you will eventually get the money back from her when you win. But really all you want is for this to be over. And I am sure that you do not also want to hire a lawyer and go to court. If I gave you money to move, when could you be out? Do not give her the money to move until the house is empty and you have checked for damages.
Brenda
This is a very interesting and possibility quite effective idea. This may well be worth a try. Thanks!
I so appreciate everyone's willingness to take the time to help me. I certainly would not have thought to file for garnishment. As the seller owns a company, there is likely another term, but I will certainly look into this.
If she is not paying rent for the time she is in the house, evict her! I am sure your
realtors did the rental agreement for you allowing her to stay an extra 30 days? They could also be liable if they didn't.
Hire an eviction company and start the
process immediately.
Best of luck
Jeffrey Adam
[addsig]
The contract stipulated 30 days from the date of closing, which was the 9th. They did not put anything else such as rent to be paid after this 30 days. I did not think of it, but then I am not the agency, and quite honestly, we wrote the purchase contract back in September with closing to be in January (when funds were available) and never dreamed that we would have any problem getting her to move. Can I hire the eviction company before the 30 days of allowable occupancy?
This underscores the rule of thumb: Always Make Sure They Have Something To Lose! Here's how to handle this situation in the future:
1) Stipulate in the purchase contract that money will be held back in escrow until the seller delivers the property.
2) Make sure it's enough money that they won't want to give it up. $500 ain't enough -- make it $10k
3) Establish a daily charge that will be deducted from the escrowed funds if they don't vacate.
4) Establish a cleaning fee if they don't leave the house in good condition.
5) Have a WRITTEN AGREEMENT which they sign, and deposit a copy of this in escrow.
Here's the important part: you can be a nice person and forgive their transgressions later on, if you want. That is, you can refund them the whole amount even if they stay an extra two weeks, but let that be *your* choice, not theirs.
Finally, I wouldn't go knocking on their door, at least not alone. Any time you want to deal with a hostile tenant, MAKE SURE you have a witness. Don't go to their house alone. I have a hostile tenant who called ME, then claimed that I called him and started screaming at him "fuck you!!!".
This is a potentially serious situation. Start treating it as such *now*. Make sure you do everything in writing, that you have a witness for everything, and that you cross every T. Remeber the movie "Pacific Heights"?
Don't get caught in that.
Oh, one last note: you might try tricking them out. Say something like "hey, you won't get your seller reward if you don't move out by the 9th." Remember? That $1000 seller reward you mentioned to them? Believe me, it'll be cheaper than an eviction.[ Edited by apn on Date 01/21/2004 ]