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WHAT HAPPENS IF THE BUYER CHANGES HIS MIND
To purchase a property, a buyer must make an offer of the amount he is willing to pay. This offer may be what the seller is asking, but often times is lower, in which case a negotiation ensues between the parties. Such negotiation is typically conducted between buyer´s and seller´s respective representatives, either attorneys or realtors, and concludes when a mutually-acceptable sale price is reached.
A buyer can change his mind about the purchase of a property for any reason up until the time a seller accepts an offer. Sometimes, a seller will accept immediately. When negotiations occur, it can take some time to reach an agreed-upon final purchase price, in which case the buyer can back out of the negotiations prior to receipt of a document from the seller or his representative indicating acceptance of the most recently presented offer.
Contracts for purchase of real estate typically include inspection contingency clauses, which specify the solution to any problems that may arise during the home inspection process. Minor issues that are easily repairable may be resolved by requiring the seller to fix them prior to transfer of the property to the buyer, or to pay the cost of the repairs to the buyer, either through a separate payment or indirectly through a decrease in the purchase price of the property.
Major issues, such as serious structural defects or safety hazards, may be specified in the contract as grounds for cancelling the contract. However, buyers should be cognizant that, while certain disclosures are required of a seller of real property and a home inspection reveals most potential problems, there is still an element of caveat emptor, or "buyer beware." Minor issues that are not otherwise discovered by the buyer may be something he has to deal with and are probably not grounds for cancelling a contract.
If a seller meets all terms of a contract and the buyer still changes his mind about purchasing the property, the buyer faces certain ramifications. He may be required to forfeit any earnest money he has paid to the seller; many sellers require a non-refundable earnest money payment of some percentage of the price of the property to ensure that the buyer is truly serious about following through with the transaction. Buyers who do not follow through may be faced with attorney fees if they have hired a lawyer to assist them with the purchase process.
In addition, cancellation of a contract may leave the seller still responsible for paying his realtor and attorney for services rendered, and may result in additional losses to the seller in terms of listing expenses and the inability to show a property to other potential buyers while the contract in question was pending. In such instances, the seller may sue the buyer to recover the expenses incurred by the seller from relying on the contract.
To avoid problems, buyers should be sure that a real estate contract they enter meets their needs and requirements. Patience and diligence during the contracting process can avoid a great deal of trouble and expense that is certain to arise if the buyer changes his mind once the contract is already written.
Gbrey | 
