Are text offers contractually binding

Maureen6060

New Member
Jurisdiction
Ohio
Are offers/conditions stated in a text conversation legally binding like a written contract is? There is an agreed price with a specific closing date. Buyers want a price reduction based on inspection results and offered a lower price. Seller offered a lower price in text conversation which buyer declined. Both parties decided to sleep on it. Seller now won't take any offer less than price agreed to in contract. There is a text thread with a lower price and a direct conversation declining the offer. Is anything but the contract binding?? As in if one party wanted to take the other party to court, could the text messages and the personal conversation be considered?
 
There is the legal way.
There is the illegal way.
Choose wisely, proceed deliberately.
 
Is anything but the contract binding?? As in if one party wanted to take the other party to court, could the text messages and the personal conversation be considered?

There was no agreement to anything by both parties in that text message exchange. So even without the statute of frauds you'd have a problem in that there is no contract where there has been no offer and acceptance. Once an offer has been declined, that offer is dead.

And with real estate, the statute of frauds requires a contract in writing that has been signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought in order to be enforceable. Text messages are not signed, creating a problem under the statute of frauds.
 
What do you think the text conversation would bind anyone to, if the offer made by text was declined?
Could it be bound back in within the contract. As in' we declined the price in the contract, but in this text, you said a lower price. And we'll accept the price in the text'. That wouldn't be binding correct? For that to be binding a different contract would have to be written with the lower price and both parties would have to sign the new contract.
 
Could it be bound back in within the contract. As in' we declined the price in the contract, but in this text, you said a lower price. And we'll accept the price in the text'. That wouldn't be binding correct? For that to be binding a different contract would have to be written with the lower price and both parties would have to sign the new contract.

You can write a contract with whatever amount you want to offer but referring to the texts in that offer is not going to compel the seller to accept it if he doesn't want to.

If you want to pay a lower amount, just offer it, sign it, say how much earnest money you will put up on acceptance and see how it goes.

Your credibility as a buyer is zero unless you do it right.
 
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