After my buyer completed his inspection, he sent the seller an amendment to ask for several repairs. The seller responded with his own amendment that stated he would complete one of the requested repairs and that the contract would terminate if the buyer didn’t sign the amendment within 24 hours. Can the seller terminate the contract if the buyer doesn’t accept the amendment?
No. Even though a buyer or seller can propose an amendment to the contract at any time, merely proposing an amendment to a contract–or refusing to accept a proposed amendment–does not give either party a unilateral right to terminate an existing contract. The contract is only changed after the parties sign the amendment signifying their agreement. Without a fully executed amendment, the original contract remains in effect as written.
Keep in mind that if the buyer purchased a termination option that had not yet expired, the buyer could terminate the contract for any reason.
Yes Buyers can terminate for any reason or for no reason prior to the expiration of the option period.
This, to me, is one of the many things about our contracts that warrants a great conversation with your client, be they the Seller or the Buyer. In Texas, we are blessed with great contracts. Let’s do our jobs well by helping our clients understand they are legal and binding. Using an article like this is a good place to start when discussing things like repair amendments with either party.
Let me see if I understand this situation. The buyer proposes an amendment to the contract. The Seller counters ask for Buyer agreement in 24 hours. If Buyer does not agree if the Buyer does not terminate prior to the end of option period the original contract stands… Right?
That is what this scenario is proposing. The listing agent can prepare an amendment requesting those terms and present it to the buyer, but the buyer has no obligation to sign it and would need to find a new agent if their agent told them to. An amendment is exactly what it states – you are amending the original contract and additional repairs not requested on the original contract etc are negotiated during the option period. The seller does not have to do any of the requested repairs unless agreed to in an amendment, but the buyer has the unrestricted… Read more »
Correct. In your scenario, the original contract has not been changed.
I exactly faced same situation in past couple of days.
Buyer and seller have exchanged Amendment and counter Amendments.
Eventually, buyer terminated this deal one day prior to the end of option period because of his family issue.
Option period enables UNRESTRICTED right of the buyer to terminate the deal.
Correct It is a big purchase for the buyer not the seller.
It’s up to the buyer to go with it or not. The seller has offered the sale with some repairs the buyer can opted out of it not the seller .
What happens if the seller later discovers a discrepancy with the easement on the survey but the buyer refuses to agree to it? Is the buyer able to force the seller to continue with the sale based on the original survey that had the error?