What rights and remedies does the buyer have under the following circumstances of a failed contract?
<p>A buyer offered X for a building, which was accepted by the seller. The building had a mortgage, Y, which was greater than X. The terms of the purchase contract called for the building to be delivered &quot;free and clear of all mortgages, liens, and other encumbrances,&quot; and the understanding was that the seller was supposed to pay off the mortgage by making up the remaining mortgage balance, Y-X.</p>
<p>Seller used only X to pay down the mortgage, which had a remaining balance of Y-X. Buyer doesn't want the building with the Y-X mortgage remaining on it, wants to cancel the deal, and get his X back.</p>
<p>What is the name of the tort that the seller has committed? What rights and remedies does the buyer have?</p>

<h2>No tort has been committed</h2>
<p>This is a straight up breach of contract.</p>
<p>I also don’t understand how this happened - settlement on land usually involves the mortgage holder to taking payment in full and discharging the mortgage.</p>

united-states contract-law mortgage