Real Estate/Escrow hell, Can Superman help Lois Lane??? (contingent, appraisal, clause)

[tandy kane]

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Is there a time limit on keeping a escrow open in California? Can it got doormat or be cancel without both parties signing off on the cancellation? My seller is trying to back out of our deal they accepted the offer at 300k and signed a contract prior to appraisal but appraisal came back at 270k,,, I signed the addendum then my agent and banking institute both got a verbal from the sellers agent/brker that they agreed to the amended pricing so we proceed and turned in the loan package to get a call 2 weeks later from agent/brker that they have a 2nd buyer willing to over pay for the property so now they want to cancel our deal. I feel dubbed, they relisted property on MLS and had a open house while we were in escrow and now refuse to even refund my out of pocket expenses IE: appraisal inspection, movers, advertising additional rent costs etc... What can i do? Do i have any recourse here?[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FalconheadWest]

Same answer as your other thread:
Verbals mean nothing in real estate. If you don't have a signed amendment with the sellers agreeing to the lower price, you have nothing, and you would be out your expenses. They agreed in writing to the $300k. If your financing falls through because you cannot obtain a mortgage for the amount higher than the appraisal, you would be entitled to your earnest money back (only if your contract is contingent upon financing), but none of your out of pocket expenses.

[FalconheadWest]

If you refuse to sign cancellation, you're agreeing to the contract price of $300k. Are you willing to pay the cash difference of your appraisal and the contract price? If so, what's the problem? The seller doesn't need the other buyer.

No, you both don't have to agree, but the person trying to not close could be sued for "specific performance" and forced to close.

Escrow is good until closing.

[Silverfall]

If you fail to perform on the agreed upon contract price of $300,000 and you don't have a signed addendum for them to drop the price to $270,000 then you don't have many choices. Verbal agreements aren't enforceable. You can refuse to sign the termination paperwork, but to what end?

Please don't confuse escrow monies with contracts. These are two different things. Money can sit in escrow until a judge orders that it be released or both parties agree who gets the money. You can have a terminated contract and disputed earnest money. These are different things.

Depending on what your contract says, you may have some automatic termination clauses in there, so I encourage you to hire an attorney to help you understand what you signed.

[rjrcm]

I agree with the above assuming you did not get an amendment for the new price signed by the seller. What did your agent say about the situation?

[SmartMoney]

What kind of loan were you getting? If FHA or VA, that value stands for 4 and 6 months, respectively (unless on a FHA the underwriter declares the appraisal not valid, which is rare and I have only seen this once). Conventional, you can try another lender. Can't order another appraisal with Lender #1, that would be considered appraisal shopping. But there is nothing stating you can't get another appraisal.

Also, if it was FHA or VA, you have every right to request reimbursement for that appraisal by the new buyerif it's to be reused in another transaction (you may not get it, but it's customary here to reimburse the buyer that couldn't complete the sale). But if they are putting cash above, it sounds like a conventional loan.