Settlement approaching - we want out?

Right now my settlement date is approaching and I've had a complete change of mind about the house that I intended to buy.

What are my options? I realize that if I cancel, I'll lose my earnst money, but is that it? I'm in VA.

Also please think about why you have changed your mind. It is very common for humans to worry about any large decision they make. Wedding jitters, buyer's remorse, and other terms describe this. You start looking at things from a more concrete angle and only seeing the negative and worrying about all the things that could go wrong.

If you did what you should have done and looked at a number of properties before you wrote the contract and had a professional inspection- then try and remember why you decided on this house. You could walk away and lose a huge amount of money and then a few weeks later realize you should have bought it.

The seller could file a specific performance lawsuit against you for failure to complete the deal. That's not very likely.

However, YOU could be sued for the full 6% sales commission by backing out.

Depends on how motivated the seller is...legally, the seller could sue you to compel the purchase unless you can get out of the contract via one of the contingency clauses. Obviously, you will have lose your claim on the earnest money (and if the seller is smart, he'll ask for a penalty deposit for wasting his/her time to let you out of the contract). Plus, if the title company has incurred any expenses pertaining to the paperwork, they may compel you to pay those costs.

Read your paperwork...you may be liable for any costs incurred by the seller due to your walking away.

Make a call to your state capital---most have an office of banking and housing---and they could best answer your questions.
BTW...I have several friends who are Realtors, and none of them ever sued someone for changing their mind. Among other things, a suit costs money. They may not like it, but it's better than buying a home you don't want.

Good luck!