A: A contract "purchaser" has definite rights under its contract to purchase the property. The contract is binding on both parties. Every contract is different...and some do contain provisions entitling either part to terminate the contract on the occurrence of certain events or prior to the expiration of certain time period,,,,but it would be unusual for a contract to entitle a Seller to terminate in the absence of Purchaser's breach or the occurrence of a specified event. Assuming your contract (i) does not entitle your seller to simply walk away from his obligations under the contract simply because he no longer wants to sell to you (in this case, because he received a higher offer), and (ii) does not prohibit the commencement by you of a "specific enforcement" action to force your Seller to transfer title to you in compliance with the contract enforce, then, and in such event, you are entitled to commence an immediate action to specifically enforce your rights under the contract. Further, concurrently with the commencement of such action, you are also entitled to immediately file a "lis pendens" against the property pending the outcome of your action. A lis pendens is a notice to the world (filed against the property) that you have commenced an action to enforce your contract....and anyone acquiring title to the property
after the filing of the lis pendens does so subject to your superior right to title acquire title. The filing of a lis pendens is a very powerful tool and effectively tells all other prospective buyers of the property that they would be doing so at their own risk.
A: Depending on the rate differential between your current mortgage loan and the refinancing proposal, the saving in the long term can be substantilal. In the short term, the savings in debt service payments will be off-set by the cost of the refinancing, e.g. commitment and loan fees, appraisal and other underwriting costs imposed by a new lender), mortgage title fees and atty fees (taking into account you, the borrower, customarily pays the new lender's atty costs). That said, many residential lenders limit the costs to residential borrowers of the financing costs of any such refinancing),
A: In many states, e.g. New York, Fee Retainer agreements are required by law before any legal services can be performed. As you have indicated, the base purpose of a retainer agreement is to set forth a clear description of the scope of legal services to be performed and the fees and disbursements payable in connection with the rendering of such services. The retainer agreement should also set forth the rights of both client and attorney in the event a dispute arises between them and the methodology for resolving such dispute, e.g. arbitration vs lawsuit. The retainer agreement should also set forth the right of the client to terminate, as well as the right of the attorney to withdraw from, the attorney/client relationship.
A: The nature and scope of escrow agreements vary widely...but they all have one thing in common...to wit, they create a trust/beneficiary relationship founded on a very strong fiduciary relationship. The agreements can be as short as 1-2 pages or can be voluminous in scope...all dependent on the complexities of the understandings between the parties.
