Home Buyers: Read Your Contracts Fine Print For Any Possible Risks

After building their dream home, a Fort Worth family got the rug pulled out from under them

Every home buyer’s worst nightmare: Spending time and energy into building your dream home only for something to go terribly wrong with the deal in the end. That’s exactly what happened to a Texas family in an unfortunate scenario that should serve as a lesson to all about reading the fine print in contracts.

After spending eight months designing and building their dream home in Ft. Worth, the family’s home builder walked away from the deal and canceled the sale just weeks before they were planning on moving in.

How can they do that? Is it even legal to pull the wool over the buyer’s eyes like that? Unfortunately, yes, because located deep within the depths of their contract agreement was some unfamiliar language that allowed the home builder to do just that.

The termination for convenience clause: A little-known clause, but a legally legitimate one nonetheless

Buyers beware: The “termination for convenience clause” is what the home builder used to walk away from the deal and then list the home again for $110k more than the price that the family had originally agreed to pay.

It’s an unfamiliar clause to many, but essentially it gives the home builder the right to take the exit ramp on the deal while offering no protections for the buyer.

In a booming real estate market where you may be quick to sign the dotted lines on contracts, it’s especially important to read the fine print carefully and correctly with a professional.

Home contract language can be confusing

It’s no surprise that certain builders want to take advantage of the booming real estate market. Consider asking yourself these quick questions to protect your rights in a home building construction contract:

• Is the contractor insured?
• Does the contractor have a license?
• Does the contractor have solid references?
• Have you read over the contract in great detail?
• Do you have the right professional help to review confusing legal language in the contract?

A real estate lawyer can break down the fine print

One of the key benefits of having a real estate lawyer is to review contracts and decipher vague or confusing language and call out anything that could be a problem down the road.

Your LegalShield provider lawyers are familiar with the laws in your state and can review the contract for you, which means you don’t have to guess to know if your contract is legally sound or not. If you need to back out of a real estate contract for any reason, check out this U.S. News & World Report article that features helpful advice from a LegalShield provider lawyer.

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