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Refusing to close on home after major structural issues discovered. Worried about specific performance.

I’m under contract on a home in Maryland and I am refusing to close after discovering major structural issues that were heavily downplayed during the inspection process.

My agent is my partner’s aunt, which makes this much harder emotionally. I trusted her completely, and throughout the process she pressured us to move very quickly. During inspections, instead of bringing in licensed specialists, she brought in her own people who were apparently unlicensed and gave extremely low repair estimates.

The inspector she recommended described the front stone facade and deck issues as relatively minor. Based on that information, we negotiated a $6k credit and moved forward.

After contingencies were removed, I independently hired a structural engineer, contractors, and a licensed stone mason. Their findings were dramatically different. We are now being told repairs could potentially reach $50k+ and may involve major reconstruction work.

I’m now speaking with an attorney and trying to recover my earnest money deposit. Part of our strategy is that we have not yet released the engineering report to the seller because once disclosed, it would likely create major disclosure obligations and significantly impact the property value moving forward.

I do not want to sue my agent because she is family and I do not want to create a permanent rift. I mainly just want out of this deal and to move on.

At this point, I fully intend to refuse to close. I can survive losing the EMD, although it would hurt financially. My biggest fear is the seller pursuing specific performance and somehow forcing me to buy the property.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? How realistic is specific performance in situations involving severe structural discoveries this late in the process? Is losing the EMD usually where these situations end?

Not looking for legal advice since I already have counsel involved. Just hoping to hear real-world experiences from people who have gone through this.

submitted by /u/Salsa-N-Chips
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1thrdls/refusing_to_close_on_home_after_major_structural/
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