Although many of our South Florida readers know that buying and selling real estate can get complex, the fact of the matter is that it can be exciting too. Families, in particular, can get excited about the prospect of finding the perfect place to call “home” and start a life together. However, not every deal goes smoothly, as a recent news story about one South Florida couple’s problems with their real estate purchase demonstrated.
The couple has been waiting to get into their “dream home” for months as a real estate dispute plays out over the title to the property. According to the report, the couple tried to take advantage of the super low listing prices that many people saw during the real estate downturn and the subsequent foreclosure wave that hit Florida incredibly hard. The property they targeted was going through some of these legal issues, but the company that owned the house when they tried to push the deal to closing wasn’t able to convey a clean title – almost always a major requirement when transferring ownership of real estate.
Despite the couples’ best efforts, the property dispute is still ongoing. And, now that the South Florida real estate market has bounced back in an almost unprecedented way, the couple thinks that the company is trying to get out of the deal so that the house can be sold to someone else – for a much higher price.
As exciting as finding a “dream home” is, South Florida residents should be able to learn from the difficulties that the young couple in this recent news story experienced. Without taking care of the details, a real estate purchase could quickly devolve in to a prolonged dispute – potentially even resulting in litigation. An experienced real estate contract attorney may be able to help South Florida residents create airtight contracts so their rights are not violated in the process of making their dreams come true.
Source: nbcmiami.com, “South Florida Couple Says ‘Dream Home’ Deal Went Bad When Owner Couldn’t Deliver Title,” Willard Shepard, Mar. 12, 2014