Can I Back Out of an Accepted Offer to Purchase in Saskatchewan?

You signed an offer, it was accepted, and now you are having second thoughts. Maybe your financing looks shaky, the inspection turned up something, or a seller has a better offer. The pressure is real, and so is the worry that you have already committed.

This article explains in general terms how to think about the question. It cannot tell you whether you can leave your particular deal, because that turns on the exact words you signed and the facts. It will help you know what to look for and what to do next.

This article covers the law of Saskatchewan.

Start with what you signed

An accepted offer to purchase is the written record of the deal between buyer and seller. Everything about your options starts with that document, not with how you feel about the deal or what a friend heard about someone else's sale.

Many Saskatchewan offers are written on a standard template. One standard Law Society offer to purchase sets out who pays which closing costs, for example. Your own offer may be a different form, may have added clauses, and may have schedules attached, so the safest approach is to read the whole package, not only the first page.

Conditions are where the real options usually sit

Many offers include conditions, such as the buyer arranging financing or the buyer being satisfied with an inspection. A condition is a term that must be met, or dealt with in the way the contract describes, before the deal becomes firm. If a condition is still open, the contract itself may explain how either side may deal with it.

The details matter a great deal. Look for these points in your offer:

• Each condition and what exactly it is for.
• The date and time by which it must be dealt with.
• Who is allowed to rely on it: the buyer, the seller or both.
• How it must be dealt with, and whether notice has to be in writing.
• What the contract says happens if the condition is not met.

Missing a deadline, or giving notice in the wrong way, can change your position. If a date is close, get advice before it passes.

Walking away without a right to do so

If the contract gives you no right to leave and you simply refuse to go ahead, the other side may treat that as a breach. What follows depends on the contract and the facts, and may include a claim for losses, the loss of a deposit, or a dispute over whether the deal can still be completed. A lawyer can tell you which of these applies to your contract.

Be careful about informal messages as well. A text saying you are done, or an agent passing on that you want out, can be read as a refusal to complete, so talk to a lawyer before sending something you cannot take back.

Costs you may already have

Even before closing, a signed deal tends to cost money. In the standard Law Society template, each party pays their own lawyer, and the purchaser pays the Land Titles Registry fees to register the property in the purchaser's name and to register the purchaser's mortgage. If a deal collapses, you may have costs that are hard to recover, and the other side may have its own.

Compare those costs with the possible cost of a dispute. Sometimes a negotiated release, signed by both sides in writing, is cleaner than a unilateral exit. Whether that is available depends on the other party's willingness.

What to do next

• Find the signed offer, every schedule and any amendments.
• Note every condition and its deadline.
• Pause before sending any message that says you will not complete.
• Gather your mortgage commitment, inspection report or other documents tied to your reason.
• Book a conversation with a Saskatchewan real estate lawyer before any deadline passes.
• If you want to negotiate a release, ask that any agreement be in writing and signed by everyone on the contract.

Frequently asked questions