So you think you found your dream home and you’ve signed a purchase agreement. However, that dream home doesn’t seem so dreamy anymore and you’ve decided you want out of the purchase agreement – what do you do now?

If the seller has taken the home off of the market and has kept their end of the contract, you are more than likely stuck with the house. Therefore, before you sign a purchase agreement, you must be certain this is house you want to make your home.

How do you get out of a purchase agreement? Very carefully. You are in a very weak position and you can’t simply avoid closing on the home to get out of the agreement.

The ideal option is to ask for a mutual release of the purchase agreement and to ask for the return of your earnest money. However, this is extremely unlikely to happen. Alternatively and still unlikely, the seller may let you out of the contract, but will keep the earnest money. (This is also a good reason to pay the lowest amount of earnest money possible.)

In all likelihood, the seller may even ask for a financial remedy since they took the home off the market. You may be liable to pay even more money for breaking the contract. If you find yourself in this position, I advise you to hire an attorney.

Before signing a purchase agreement, always evaluate the pros and cons of a new home purchase. Make sure your agent has run a comparative market analysis to ensure your offer is a fair price – you don’t want to overpay!

Also, make sure you are 100{6823ff9777938b58e5be816e102fe5834d399a149a10e63bb255bc5cf9cea7ae} comfortable with the contract. Real estate transactions are required to be in writing. This is good in that you have the conditions signed and in print; however, backing out will be extremely difficult and/or expensive.

If you live in the Indianapolis metro area let me help you with your home purchase. I represent both buyers and sellers in Brownsburg, Zionsville, Carmel and most of the other surrounding communities of Indianapolis. I hate to see anyone make a mistake on such a large and important transaction – allow me to guide you through the process and I’ll make sure you avoid making any mistakes.