Return of Ernest Money
 

Recently purchased home "From The Villages" and after inspection found MAJOR problems with inspection. After inspection period of 10 days I cancelled my contract on the 9th day of the 10 day cancellation period.

I was told by my Realtor I would get my refund and now going on 3 weeks and having my Realtor tell me over and over "It has to take a few days" to which I think 3 weeks should have been long enough.

Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and what time limit (if any) is appropriate and who you suggest I contact in order to receive this.

Appreciate your help and look forward to your advice

First of all, The Villages does not have any Realtors, and, unless you paid for a buyer's agent, no one is representing you as an agent. Also, the inability to get insurance does not sound like an inspection defect that can be used to cancel the contract under the inspection clause. I would suggest that you have a real estate attorney read the contract and advise you if it allows you to cancel the contract.

What did the signed contract state??

They stated the inspection found "MAJOR PROBLEMS" including the roof. I would guess that major problems would qualify.

It depends on what is a major problem. Typically, the seller has the right to correct some defects under the inspection clause. The buyer doesn't always have the right to cancel the contract. One problem with the inspection clause is that the correctable defects are usually defined as a percentage of the sales price, which is highly subjective.

The age of the roof and the insurability of the house are things that the buyer could have easily determined before signing the sales contract. I doubt that the inspection clause can be used to cancel the contract for that reason.

OP, you should know that the earnest money is not being held by The Villages. It should have been deposited into an escrow account and controlled by an escrow company. You may want to call the escrow company and ask them if The Villages has authorized them to release the money to you.

10 days is not to be of concern. They are very busy with closings and they also have to have the seller sign a release so give them more time and ask your agent to keep in touch with you.

Age of the roof yes, but insurability?

How is a new buyer from outside the area supposed to anticipate a problem that is just now beginning to affect those who have lived here for decades?

It has never occurred to me to call insurance companies to inquire about a new policy for a home that I was only considering. I wonder how a company would react to that, would they send someone right out or would they suggest I move towards purchasing the home before asking them to spend time on it?

I agree. But even if you get insurance, it will only be for one year at best. After that, the company can require you to get a new roof anyway. If The Villages refuses to return the earnest money, the OP may want to buy the house and install a new roof. It is always risky to buy a house with an old roof.

Did you convey you intent to cancel the contract in writing with an email or text? If you just called the agent and told them you wanted to cancel then I would paper over the conversation with an email reminding them of your intent to cancel and the date on which you communicated that to them.

Its probably no problem and the 2 weeks is a just a delay due to them being busy. But in case it drags out its always good to have a paper trail.

Insurability
 

Insurance would be a huge concern. Mortgage companies require homes they finance to be insured at closing.

You bet you can get out of purchasing a home, new or pre-owned, if you find major issues. I’ve done both a few times.
When buying a new home, we had it inspected and many flaws were found, and we told the agent we are walking away. The realtor said the builder would spend the $20k to fix the issues and we said no. If the builder had these kind of issues that were in the open, what kind of issues could there be lurking in areas you can’t see?
Another new purchase, our contract said the house would be done/ready by the 1st of October. It wasn’t, just a few things weren’t done and we backed out.

Buying a used home, the realtor put in the contract that we could assume their low interest loan or get a new loan, this was back when interest rates were 12%, but the loan the owner had was 4%. When I checked with the owners bank on assuming their loan, the bank told me it wasn’t assumable. I cancelled the purchase but the owner and realtor tried to force me to get a new loan and it didn’t work. I even called the state realtor board and reported the tactics the realtor was using.

1 more thing, when you sell a home and put a clause in the contract that their is a grace period for the buyer to inspect the home or get financing, this gives the buyer a longer timeframe to back out. They can have a hang nail to cancel the purchase. This happened to us when we were in long a home.

"When buying a house, you typically lose your deposit (also called "earnest money") if you back out of the deal without a valid reason outlined in the contract, such as failing to meet contingencies like getting financing approval, passing inspection, or if you simply change your mind after signing the purchase agreement; in these situations, the seller can usually keep your deposit."

I got estimates on every home I considered. Not hard to do.

Are you receiving 100% back- in many cases The Villages “sales agency” keeps 50%