Unfortunately since you have signed off on the contract you have entered into an agreement. Request a copy of the agreement that you have signed and read through it to see if there is a cancellation fee. If not then he cannot request that. Each office works differently but this should all be in the contract that you have signed. Have you researched this Realtor to see if he or she has had many sales and success in your neighborhood? He or she might turn out to be the best Realtor. The $500 fee might be coming from his/her broker and this agent has to answer to them. - Tue May 27 2008, 11:20
How much money do you have available to put down for down payment considering that your attorney will cost you $1K and the bank closing costs can range upto $3K? Since you are looking to purchase a Co-op keep in mind that you will have to go through the board interview process. Since I have dealt with tons of these boards they do want to see an additional $5K in your savings after you close incase of emergencies. - Thu May 15 2008, 13:01
You should have a Realtor that represents you and your best interest. If you do not and are working directly with the agent for the seller you must go to the local town hall office and pull the property card. Ask for help from the staff there and go over what in the house is legal. If those items are not legal find out what the process entails to make it legal. This way if there are monies that need to be paid you and your attorney can be educated enough about the property to request what's fair from the seller. From this point you should be able to resolve this and get the house that you love.
If it does not work out consider this...when it's meant to be it will be! I wish you luck :-) - Thu May 15 2008, 12:21
I agree with all the answers given so far. You should talk with your landlord and explain to him/her what your plans are with finding a new home. I am sure that if you found a new tenant or allowed them to show your current residence so that they can secure a tenant with no loss of income it should be fine. If you haven't started looking for your new home already I would atleast at this time get out there and see what your money can get you in this market. Make sure that it's what you want before cancelling the lease. - Fri May 9 2008, 08:30
MVPs or 'Most Valuable Players' are key Trulia Voices members who have been contributing high-quality content throughout 2008 and providing valuable advice to consumers and real estate professionals.