petesdragon

Hello, as per the title we have had a bid accepted for a house here in Canada, got the mortgage, the guy selling signed the paperwork a week ago, and updated paperwork yesterday, then this morning he says to the realtor that he has changed his mind, my lawyer has looked at the agreement and says its legal and binding, so do I have a case to still buy the house, anyone been in the same position here in Canada? Thank you for reading and helping

Almost Canadian

Unless the house you are buying is very unique, you will struggle to persuade a Court to Order specific performance. However, you will be entitled to claim any costs, expenses and fees you incur in obtaining a similar property, (so long as they are reasonable and you acted appropriately to mitigate your loss) from the vendor, provided the contract is not the typical one that is drafted in the vendor's favour.

The litigation will be expensive and you may not believe it is economical to pursue such a course of action. How good are you at negotiaton?

Aviator

Also talk to your Realtor, because the seller is also liable for their fees if he drops out of a contract, they may want to pursue it too. Go see a lawyer, we were in a similar situation, cancel or change a contract and purchaser would not agree, our lawyer advised against it and made us aware of the consequences. It could have been very expensive.

I don't believe you can easily force them to sell you the house, any expenses you incur you can claim off of the seller, rent, extra interest, extra legal, any difference if you end up having to pay more for a similar property. Your lawyer can advise you better than an Internet forum.

in the woods

We had a simular thing happen 20 ish years ago the seller ended up paying $5k for pulling out. She wanted her boyfriend and son to move out which they both did as the house was sold and when they did she pulled out of the deal paid cash at the realty office. It was split 5 ways 1 for me 1 for wife 1 for listing agent 1 for selling agent and 1 for the realty office

HGerchikov

You say that the lawyer says the contract is legal and binding - what does he say your options are? Surely he is in a better position to tell you than most of the posters on here. I can only speak for Ontario, don't know where you are buying, but once an offer has been accepted and any conditions signed off then you are in the same position as Exchange of Contract in the UK.

dbd33

The same thing happened to me, actually a couple of times, but in the closest example, I'd made an offer subject to conditions which had been accepted. The next day I tried to waive the condition (financing) but by then the seller had had a better offer. She was quite candid about saying that she knew she was in breach of the contract but she knew there wasn't anything I would do about it. I consulted a lawyer (the one we have on staff, I didn't throw good money after bad). He said the seller was right and that if I wanted to argue for interest on the deposit and for the fees incurred up to that point he'd write a fierce letter. I didn't bother.

I think you can believe that a property transaction is done when you're standing in the house changing the locks.

petesdragon

Thanks for the replies, my lawyer spoke to the vendor and basically said that he would be happy to take it to court, my lawyer told me that it would take about 3 years to sort out and be very expensive, so I get my deposit back and we move on, positive to take from it is that the bank are willing to give me a mortgage and lesson learnt "it's not your house until you are holding the keys to the new locks" (thanks dbd33)

Aviator

I wonder if he really would, maybe bluster to call your bluff. Personally I'd spend a few hundred to test his mettle and see if he caves at the prospect of court. Expensive for you, expensive for him, if it goes to supreme court one or other of you should get costs as well.

If you go through small claims, which I believe you can do provided you have suffered a financial loss due to breach of contract and can demonstrate that loss, the cost is minimal so long as you represent yourself. If you wait until you find another house and completed the sale, add up any additional costs due to the vendors breach and you may have a claim. Ask your lawyer. Small claims is about $150 filing fee and a $25k limit.

dbd33

I suppose it depends where the OP is located. I understand that in Vancouver it takes several years for cases to come before the small claims court. That's a long time fretting over a house that might not have worked out anyway. Better I think, to accept that house buying in Canada, and probably elsewhere, is a bit of a crapshoot, if everyone abides by the contract that's nice but you can't make them do it.