<p>H and I have just purchased a vacation home (as an investment and possible retirement home). It’s on a canal with a shared dock (salt water). The seller has been letting a friend keep a 40-ft sailboat at the dock. We put a clause in the offer that the boat must be removed by closing; seller accepted offer. </p>
<p>Today we signed the closing papers but the sailboat has not been removed, and the sailboat owner says he can’t move the boat till next week “because of the tides.” He had 30 days to move the boat. We drew up an addendum saying that the funds in escrow will not be released until boat is removed. We gave them four days past the original closing date.</p>
<p>My H (engineer and former boat owner) looked at the boat: tattered, unusuable sails, spiderwebs and dirt in lines, not maintained, looks unused. He thinks the boat might sink if moved and that it will have to be removed by professionals. We do not want to be responsible for the boat. </p>
<p>This is uncharted water for us :). What will we do if the boat isn’t moved? I am thinking we might have to take the owner to court to force her to remove the boat. My H thinks the removal by pros will be big bucks. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Too late, but as an agent, I would have strongly advised not closing until the boat was moved. I.e., if the clause was written properly, close of escrow would have been contingent upon the boat being moved. If the Seller’s funds are in escrow until the boat is moved, you have some leverage but as owner you now share in the problem.</p>
<p>Court action may have some bumps too, depending upon your state. The boat owner may be seen as akin to a tenant that you’ve inadvertently acquired and there may be a whole shtick of due process to be observed.</p>
<p>If it means that escrow won’t close and the transaction won’t be consummated until the boat is moved, then you don’t own the property. </p>
<p>But if it means that all or a certain part of the money that you deposit in escrow will be held back (“will not be released”) until the boat is moved, that assumes that the transaction will be closed but part or all of the seller’s money won’t be released to him until the boat is moved. </p>
<p>I’d have your attorney examine the addendum and the cancellation clauses in the escrow agreement. You may well want to walk away from this property–maybe look at it again if the boat ever gets moved.</p>
<p>BookieMom, I would contact escrow ASAP and see if there is any way you can avoid closing, rescinding your signatures on the loan docs, etc. If so, I would. Simultaneously, I would contact the Seller and make clear that you will not take possession of the property until the boat is gone per the contract. I would also talk to your lawyer ASAP about both…he/she seems to have been curriously passive about this. (I’m coming from the point of view where both agents [did you have one?] and attorneys should be advocates for their clients, with fiduciary obligations.)</p>
<p>Note: if the contract were badly written, you could be in breach of contract if you fail to close the escrow, even if the Seller is in breach of contract by failing to have the boat removed…an action that is <em>his</em> contractual responsibility, not the boat owner’s. The remedy to a breach of contract is not another breach of contract. However, closing escrow a few days late is commonplace and I don’t think you stand much chance of being called to account for damages by holding off…and you would retain some leverage over the Seller in the meanwhile. Do do do get the attorney’s opinion. And I’d like to know how this turns out. I can see a not-pretty three-way litigation down the road if the cards fall really badly.</p>
<p>My H, the real estate attorney, would be tsk-tsking, and shaking his head over this one. I’m betting he would say that you should have inspected the property just before closing and then refused to close when you saw the boat still there. Depending on the wording of your addendum, the withheld $$ may be your only leverage, but you should do as has been suggested and consult with a local attorney ASAP. Please let us know how this gets resolved. Fingers crossed for a happy, quick outcome.</p>
<p>Thanks, mom3. We did inspect before signing and knew the boat was still there–the boat owner actually called the title co. to advise them and us of that. </p>
<p>The addendum states that the closing will not occur until the boat is removed, and that the title will not record until we give our permission.</p>
<p>A new wrinkle, our mortgage broker will not wire the funds to the escrow co. until the boat is removed. So, we have not actually closed yet, but our purchase offer is now extended four extra days. If the boat is not removed by that day, we will get our attorney involved.</p>
<p>Whew! I feel better too. Now you can not close and still keep good relations with the seller, if you really do want to buy the property in the future. I’m sure that the seller is gnashing his teeth at his “friend”–he could be costing him a sale.</p>