Mark G

I'm involved in a real estate transaction as the buyer. The property is an estate sale. One day prior to the scheduled closing, a title search by the closing attorneys revealed a problem in Probate. At the time, it was believed to simply be a misfiling of the status of the property as homesteaded when in fact it was not. Subsequently, the attorneys representing the estate have said that there are several stipulations as to the sale of the property (amount of real estate commission, sales price) that the Judge assigned to the case must approve before the sale can proceed. It has been approximately one month since the scheduled closing, and to date, there has been no tangible action by the attorneys representing the estate on their stated intent to request a hearing .

My questions are: Can I, as an interested party, but not a client of this law firm, file a motion to compel to get them to proceed? If so, where can I find a guide to preparing such a motion?

I'm trying to purchase a house that is an estate sale. I have an accepted offer from the estate,and had a closing date, but have found out that the attorney's for the estate did not follow the proper procedure for the approval of the sale from the court. Now, I'm being told that if court approval is needed, it could be 8 weeks before I can close, or if the documents just need to be "repackaged", 2 to 3 weeks. What is particularly annoying is that, despite the lack of due diligence that has brought about this situation, no one at the law firm handling the case has attended to this, and I'm being told things like "The lawyer handling that is out of town for the week and I don't have any other information."

What are my rights here? Do I have grounds for a complaint? Is there anything I can do to compell swifter action on the part of this law firm? How long am I obligated to buy this house given the protracted nature of the process?

Only those with the legal knowledge to answer please.