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If your contract & state allows, keep the money. I have had a similar situation in the past & the buyer opted out. I kept the money. Later I found out that the selling agent led the buyer to one of his own listings.....he got paid on the front & back of the deal. When I foud this out, I was glad i kept the funds. Business is business, and if you don't look out for yourself....nobody else will!!!
In my state, the property cannot be put back on the market until the escrow monies are resolved.
Unfortunately, you do not get to decide if you can keep the earnest monies, or not. Your contract will govern that. Only your attorney can determine if you have an enforcable contract, under your state laws.
I am sure no matter what my contract says, they'll weasel their way out of loosing the earnest money. They have already had the loan officer call and say the house won't pass FHA because of the carpenter bees. Funny my house passed inspection for an FHA loan 10 months ago and not one thing has changed with my house since then. They defaulted on the earnest money before the loan officer called but then I know how that works, they just write a letter saying the house won't pass FHA and dated it before the earnest money was due. Then why did they send an appraiser out after they said the house didn't pass?
Hey Angel, sounds to me like you've been dealing with an unscrupulous buyer's agent. It sounds to me like she wanted to tie up your house, get it off the market so it would be there for her clients while they still looked around, and if they didn't find something better, well, heck, they'd still have your house. If they did, sayonara to you. Sounds to me like they were never really going to close anyway. Sounds to me like they didn't act "in good faith."
Someone asked, What does your attorney say? I'd like to know his position also.
If your contract & state allows, keep the money. I have had a similar situation in the past & the buyer opted out. I kept the money. Later I found out that the selling agent led the buyer to one of his own listings.....he got paid on the front & back of the deal. When I foud this out, I was glad i kept the funds. Business is business, and if you don't look out for yourself....nobody else will!!!
The agent does have a house around the corner from mine. Maybe the agent talked the Seller into sprucing up her house to make it nice like mine. I was told the house was completely out dated. I am sure this happens ALL the time which is why I wanted a earnest deposit that was large enough to make them not want to walk. What good is any amount of deposit money if they can find excuses to walk or there are people who are willing to cover for them to make it possible for them to hold up a house and not have to lose earnest money.
Hey Angel, sounds to me like you've been dealing with an unscrupulous buyer's agent. It sounds to me like she wanted to tie up your house, get it off the market so it would be there for her clients while they still looked around, and if they didn't find something better, well, heck, they'd still have your house. If they did, sayonara to you. Sounds to me like they were never really going to close anyway. Sounds to me like they didn't act "in good faith."
Someone asked, What does your attorney say? I'd like to know his position also.
Hang in there. You're going to get this done!!!
Well, the only good to maybe come out of this is that a house 3 doors down from mine just sold. I have asked all my neighbors opinions on which house they would rather own if the price was the same, mine or the one that sold and everybody said they would rather have mine. I thought so too but I love my house so much I couldn't be objectionable. Well the house that just sold was appraised for $295K and the guy sold it for $280. I was selling my house for $260K so maybe I was leaving too much money on the table and why do that for a Buyer that doesn't even appreciate what she is getting.
I don't know if everywhere else is the same way or not but the Buyers here seemed to be married to the idea that a house should sell at the assessed value by the town. At least that is what they seem to use as a bargaining chip here. The problem with my assessed value is it is low. My opinion for that and I have no proof is my next door neighbor is a big wig in the town and maybe in order for the town to assess his house low so he pays less in taxes they assess the whole street low. I say this because as I look at the houses on MLS comparable to mine I am shocked at how much more their house is assessed at. Now of course I can't reveal this because it is only an assumption of mine. The other reason why my house is assessed low is because the town is assessing my house as a 3 bedroom instead of 4 bedrooms. I actually use the low taxes as a selling point before they can try to make an issue of the low town assessment.
Are other people find the assessment cost to be a factor in the offers people are making?
Assessed value is a meaningless number, in my market.
Homes, in my area, are reassessed once, every 4 years, based upon a drive- by appraisal and general market trends. The appraiser has no clue what's going on inside the home, or in the yard.
Anyway, it looks like you have made some progress and realize that these
"nice" buyers do not do what they are supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it.
Does it make sense to consider letting go of trying to figure out what these " nice" buyers are up to and instead, work with your attorney/escrow agent to determine if you have an enforcable contract?
Assessed value is a meaningless number, in my market.
Homes, in my area, are reassessed once, every 4 years, based upon a drive- by appraisal and general market trends. The appraiser has no clue what's going on inside the home, or in the yard.
Anyway, it looks like you have made some progress and realize that these
"nice" buyers do not do what they are supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it.
Does it make sense to consider letting go of trying to figure out what these " nice" buyers are up to and instead, work with your attorney/escrow agent to determine if you have an enforcable contract?
Yes, it's crazy to even think about the assessed value and the town has never been in my house to evaluate it. Actually I say this because the realtor I previously had kept insisting the buyers were saying they wanted to pay assessed value. Not even sure if she was telling me the truth because I have been addressing the low assessment before it even has become an issue by saying how lucky I am to have a 4 bedroom house assessed as a 3 bedroom therefore such low taxes. Maybe it really isn't even an issue and my past realtor was just telling me this so to accept low offers??? Who knows?
I do have an appointment with my attorney to discuss the matter. Thanks a bunch!!!
Did you ever get back the contract with the change for the refridgerator initialed?
If not you do not have a fully executed contract and I doubt you will have any chance of keeping the earnest money.
No, I did insist on a copy of the P&S and another lie from the agent that she never had the buyer initial the refrigerator. Imagine if I lose a tenant and the earnest money because the agent didn't do her job. UNBELIEVABLE! Let's see who is going to be the first realtor to defend her by saying the agent did her job by working for the buyer and that's why I need an agent to represent me.
Everyone should have the right and opportunity to be a do it yourself er without such repercussion. There is no way I will find another tenant as long as I have my house for sale. If my house is empty for 6 moths, I will have lost $7,200. Now you can see why I wanted such a large amount for earnest money.
My lawyer just phoned me and the mortgage broker is going to send a letter stating that the house wasn't approved for FHA so I have to give the earnest money back. Hmmmm, funny that the last Buyer got approval on a FHA loan. People get away with this all the time because it is too costly and time consuming to sue.
What are the chances of me finding a new tenant on a house that is for sale?
Do you know why your home did not comply with FHA?
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