Botched closing results in added expenses

Q. My wife and I were scheduled to close on our new home a few weeks ago. The sale of our old home was scheduled in the morning and our buy was scheduled that same day in the afternoon. Everything looked fine up to the day of the closing.

On the morning of the closings, our lender informed us there was a problem and they would not be able to close for a few days. This, of course, messed everything up. We had to cancel our move and our seller had to cancel their closing because they wouldn't have the money from our purchase.

When it came time to reschedule the closings, our seller's attorney sent a letter to our attorney demanding an additional $800 to cover furniture storage and other costs the sellers incurred as a result of us failing to close on the original date. We fought about this for a couple days but our attorney advised us to agree to their demand. His reasoning was that we failed to close on the date specified in the contract and it was our "breach" of the contract that led to the seller incurring these costs. We eventually agreed and the two deals closed.

We now feel we were held up by the sellers and also received bad advice from our attorney. It wasn't our fault the deals failed to close on time. It had something to do with some paperwork the lender goofed up. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

A. Although it sounds like it wasn't anything you did to delay the closings, technically, it was your fault the closings did not occur per the terms of the contract. Presuming the financing contingency had expired, you were required to close on the date specified in the contract. Failure to do so resulted in a breach of the contract and subjected you to any damages incurred by the seller evolving from that breach.

I can only presume your attorney advised you as he or she did because he or she was concerned about additional exposure you may have had due to the breach. Basic contract law states that in the event one party fails to comply with the terms of a contract, the complying party is entitled to be put in the same position he/she would have been in had the contract been complied with. I have seen many cases where situations such as yours have resulted in losses far exceeding $800. Mover cancellation fees, storage fees, additional interest on seller's mortgage, hotel fees and numerous other charges all come into play in these situations.

Have you determined exactly why your lender was required to delay the closing? If the delay was caused by their mistake or incompetence, I would demand they reimburse you for your loss. Absent some resolution with them, file a pro se lawsuit in the county where your new home is located, asking the court to order them to reimburse you for your loss.

Q. What is the difference between joint tenancy and tenancy by the entireties?

A. Both have similar characteristics in that in the event of the death of one of the parties, the remaining party(ies) to the joint tenancy/tenancy by the entireties takes that share. This designation takes precedence over provisions in a will or the state intestacy statute.

The advantage to holding as tenants by the entireties is that in the event a judgment is entered against one of the parties, the judgment creditor cannot force the sale of the property to satisfy the judgment. Tenancy by the entireties is only available to married couples on property that serves as their principal residence.

• Send your questions to attorney Tom Resnick, 345 N. Quentin Road, Palatine, IL 60067, by email to tdr100@hotmail.com or call (847) 359-8983.