How to Cancel a Buyer's or Seller's Agreement
- 1). Look for a termination clause in your agreement. Many agreements provide for unilateral termination if proper advance notice is given. (These are relatively uncommon in buyer's and seller's agreements after the product has already been delivered, however.)
- 2). Search the laws of your state to see if they offer a statutory "cooling-off period." Many states allow buyers of consumer goods to cancel a contract within 72 hours of signing it without giving a reason. These laws were passed in order to counter high-pressure sales techniques.
- 3). Examine your agreement to see what grounds you may have for termination. List these grounds and go through them one by one to see if the other party has committed any act for which termination of the agreement is specified as a remedy. Even without specified grounds, you may terminate the agreement if the other party commits a "material breach" (serous violation) of the agreement. A monthly payment that is three days late probably does not qualify as "material" unless the agreement so specifies.
- 4). Attempt to negotiate a settlement with the other party that will allow you to terminate the agreement. The other party may allow you to terminate the agreement for less than the amount of his damages in order to avoid the time and expense of litigation. If you are a buyer who has already taken possession of the product but hasn't finished paying for it (a washing machine purchased on installments, for example), you could offer to return the product, stop making payments and allow the seller to keep any payments already made as compensation.
- 5). Calculate the other party's likely damages if you unilaterally terminate the agreement (if the other party refuses to settle with you), and compare them with the liability you will suffer if you fully perform the contract (by purchasing one house instead of another, for example). If the second figure is higher than the first, it is probably in your interest to unilaterally terminate the contract and pay damages to the other party.
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