There are actually only a couple of items where a contract can be voided by the seller. There are plenty of contingencies where the buyer can void, however, a seller has about two paths to cancel. Death is not one of them! Believe it or not most Contracts state that in case of the death of the Seller the heirs will continue to sell the property. If the seller is wanting to find a house to move into before they complete the sale of their current property, and they cannot donation a certain amount of time, then yes, they could void the contract based on a home of choice clause. Another area where the seller could cancel would be if there’s a third-party that is required to approve the sale. Usually, this might be a short sale situation or where there are multiple sellers that must approve and if there’s no agreement then the responsible party can then cancel the contract. Otherwise, once sellers agree to sell their house, they’re generally on the dime to make it to closing. Have you had a situation where the seller wanted to cancel your offer??? How did it work out?

In most cases, the answer is no. Failure to address HOA violations is typically not a voidable event. Contracts usually require sellers to repair or clear these violations, but if they don’t, Virginia law does not automatically allow the buyer to cancel the deal. Buyers must work out a solution—whether that means the seller pays for the issue later, accepting the property as-is, or, in some cases, pursuing legal action in court. Most sellers, however, take care of HOA violations without dispute. If they are not repaired and the seller is clearly violating the agreement, then after closing the buyer has the option to sue them in court for the repairs or for some sort of compensation to take care of it. The repairs, in the HOA's eyes, must be repaired - they don't care who, but they will care when and how! *** Has your buyer ever received a property without the HOA defects repaired? Or has a seller ever refused to repair the HOA? Give me the juicy details below.

What happens when a buyer discovers a defect during their final walkthrough — just a day before closing? Do they still have to go through with the deal? Buyers complete their home inspection, negotiate repairs with the seller, and everything seems set. Then, during the final walkthrough — just before closing — they notice something new. Maybe it’s a foggy window that wasn’t visible before because of the weather. The question becomes: Do they still have to close? The Short Answer: Probably, Yes If the defect existed when you purchased the property — even if you didn’t notice it or your inspector missed it — you generally still need to go to closing. Most real estate contracts state that the property is sold “as is.” That means the home’s condition at the time of ratifying the contract is what you’re agreeing to buy, except for any specific repairs negotiated after the inspection. What “As Is” Really Means The “as is” clause doesn’t mean the seller can let the property deteriorate before closing. The contract usually says the home must be delivered in “substantially the same condition” as it was when the offer was made or the contract was signed. So, for example: - If the appliances, HVAC, and doors were working and the carpet was clean at that time, they should still be in that condition at closing. - If there’s a new stain on the carpet that wasn’t there before, the seller is responsible for addressing it. But if a cloudy or foggy window was already there — even if it wasn’t noticed — it’s considered part of the home’s original condition. That means the buyer still has to proceed to closing. When the Seller Fails to Complete Agreed Repairs Now, if the seller agreed in writing to fix something (like that foggy window) as part of the home inspection negotiations, and then fails to do it, that’s a breach of contract. However, a breach doesn’t automatically give the buyer the right to cancel the deal. The buyer must still go to closing — but they retain the right to seek remedy afterward, such as legal action to have the repair completed or to recover the cost.

Real estate agents often build close, long-term relationships with their clients — and that’s a good thing. We become confidants, advisors, negotiators, and advocates. But once the transaction is complete, when should the agent step away? Post-Deal Relationships and Common Issues After closing, clients sometimes continue to turn to their agents — especially when a disagreement arises. This happens frequently in transactions involving landlords and tenants, or in post-settlement rent-back agreements between buyers and sellers. A client might say, “Anthony, I need you to handle this conflict with the seller,” or “Can you negotiate this issue with the landlord?” Here’s the challenge: once the deal is done, our license and our representation agreement expire. There’s a legal sunset on our authority. While we want to remain helpful, we are no longer officially “the agent” on that transaction. What the Agent Can Do We can still provide guidance, just not representation. For example, I might say: - “Check paragraph 25 — that’s where you’ll find the notice requirement.” - “Take a look at paragraph 26 — it explains how to send written communication.” But it’s not our role to contact the landlord or tenant directly weeks or months later. These issues often come up during move-ins or move-outs — when properties aren’t cleaned to expectation, debris is left behind, or repairs haven’t been completed. That’s when one party calls the agent, asking them to “fix it.” The truth is, at that point, we’re no longer part of the contract. The responsibility shifts to the parties involved. When to Bring in a Mediator or Attorney If the landlord and tenant (or buyer and seller) can’t resolve the conflict themselves, it’s time to involve a mediator — or, if necessary, an attorney. A mediator doesn’t represent either side; their role is simply to help both parties reach a resolution. Many states offer mediator certification programs, making this a straightforward and affordable option.

Sometimes you get to the end of a transaction and you feel like I don't want to go through this. It could be either the buyer or the seller. And many times that's gonna cost not only just bad feelings with each other, it's gonna cost some people some money. BUYER'S CONSEQUENCES Usually we hear this happening on the buyer side, and so the buyer is the one that's gonna be on the dime, and many times they have an earnest money deposit on the table. When a buyer wants to get out of the contract, they think "I'll just lose my earnest money deposit." In Virginia, that's pretty expensive actually the whole DC market, Earnest money deposit in our area is anywhere from 1% to 3%. So if you have an average price house of $800,000, you could be losing upwards to $15,000 just to back up. Also, you do have damages that you may be causing for the seller. Storage, moving costs, hotels, anything that they spend at your direction to sell the house to you, including prepaids, they made to all the title company and other vendors such as that. Also, you may have caused them to lose marketability and or value. Now that you've taken time for them to be off the market. If the market is shrinking, now that you've reached the time of year when. houses are not flying off the shelf. It's the end of summer. It's the beginning of fall. Everyone's going back to school. They're not buying houses. So there's the loss of marketability as well that they may go after you for, besides just your earnest money Deposit for sellers. IF THE SELLER DEFAULTS Sellers can also default. It's rare, but they can. If you do, you need to take into account what the buyer's options are. They just don't say, oh, okay, no problem. Walk away. They could sue you for performance and if they sue you for performance, not only do you have to sell the house to them if you lose, but now you've gotta pay legal fees, both yours and the buyers to get across the line. They could also sue you for actual damages, much like what the buyer would have to pay up for moving storage, transaction cost.