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so my attorney called today and said to expect paperwork from small claims court from the people who bought my house. they have until october 4 (1 week from today) to start a suit against us.
despite the fact that they signed a letter on the day we moved out saying that "everything in the house was to their satisfaction, the house was being sold "as is", and that they were in full agreement to release the escrowed funds of $1500 in it's entirety".
and despite the fact that their "complaints" are in a letter they wrote to their attorney 12 days after we moved out.
now what?
Last edited by cathicool; 09-27-2013 at 03:53 PM..
so my attorney called today and said to expect paperwork from small claims court from the people who bought my house. they have until october 4 (1 week from today) to start a suit against us.
despite the fact that they signed a letter on the day we moved out saying that "everything in the house was to their satisfaction, the house was being sold "as is", and that they were in full agreement to release the escrowed funds of $1500 in it's entirety".
and despite the fact that their "complaints" are in a letter they wrote to their attorney 12 days after we moved out.
now what?
You wait. Just because they say they are going to do it doesn't mean they will. And if they do, the judge will decide.
I'm curious. Did you take the walk thru/release letter straight to the attorney holding the funds? If you did and the attorney had 48 hours to release the funds, it seems to me the funds should have been released before the first letter from the seller ever arrived. If this had happened, there never would have been an issue. They could have tried to get money directly from you, but that would have been better than you trying to get back your own money.
If you did submit the letter immediately and the 48 hours passed, then I would say you have an issue with the attorney holding the funds.
thank you all for the excellent advice and suggestions.
In reading the contract, the $1500 was held in escrow "in order to insure that the seller vacates the premises within the 5 day period and that the appliances, plumbing, heating and electrical systems are in working order, roof free of leaks, and the premises are broom clean at the time the seller vacates."
According to the contract, the sellers' attorney was to release the escrowed funds 48 hours after we vacated unless the buyer says not to (which they did with their first letter). I'm really not sure why my attorney is still holding onto my escrow money even after getting a copy of the letter that the buyers signed, stating to release the escrow. According to my contract, the buyers have 60 days from the day we vacated to notify my attorney that "an action has been commenced". So basically, they are going to take us to small claims court because they really have nothing to lose by doing so.
Just great.
Again, it seems the attorney messed up here. The letter stating "not to" was written 4 days after you vacated the property - 48 hours past the original 48 hours the attorney had to release the funds.
It seems to me that the buyers did not respond in a timely enough manner and therefore, should be SOL.
Nevermind that most of what they are complaining about is ridiculous. The light bulbs don't work. Really? That's absurd. Some of the things are legitimate. In NC, the tv for instance would be considered a fixture. However, if it was gone when they did the walk through, then it's too late to whine about it.
Unless there was some other document the buyers had to sign, I would ask my attorney about the time line issue. If the walk thru/release letter they signed was the official thing, then it seems to me that anything they did after the 48 hour period basically never happened.
the buyers called their attorney 48 hrs after they did their 2nd walk thru. 1st walk thru was on the day we closed, so 7/30. then we stayed in the house 6 additional days which is why there was any money in escrow to begin with. that money in escrow was left in case the heat or ac/ major appliance broke from 7/30 til 8/5. on 8/5 we vacated the house. the buyer came over, walked thru again (this is his 2nd walk thru) and said everything was ok. i had him sign a document that i hand wrote saying that everything was ok. he actually signed it twice, as did I, so we both had original "copies". i gave my copy to my attorney.
on 8/7 was when the buyers called their attorney and said they had some issues (which were again stupid things- such as they didnt know how to turn the ceiling fan on, so it must be broken; it wasn't they had to use the remote control.) their attorney called my attorney, who is the holder of the escrow money and is also my father-in-law. i called the buyer directly and resolved the issues with the buyer over the phone. he promised to call his attorney, have the escrow released and i'd have it by friday (which would've been 8/9). but according to my attorney, their attorney never called to agree to release the funds, so my attorney couldn't (wouldn't?) release the escrow back to us on just my say so.
then, on 8/22, a written letter was faxed to my attorney from their attorney which was dated 8/17. the letter was written by my buyers with a whole slew of silly things. my attorney said that nothing could be done, either they had to agree to let us have our money back or they would have to start a claim against it within 60 days of the day we moved out- so that would be 10/4.
i just dont understand how no one seems to be acknowledging the signed document from 8/5 saying to release the funds. i guess if they do follow thru on their threat to sue, that the judge will say that they don't have any right to anything, regardless of whatever they find to be wrong (which can't be much, i know how i left my 5 year old house) because they agreed to release the money on 8/5.
is it possible that the judge will ignore that document too?
the buyers called their attorney 48 hrs after they did their 2nd walk thru. 1st walk thru was on the day we closed, so 7/30. then we stayed in the house 6 additional days which is why there was any money in escrow to begin with. that money in escrow was left in case the heat or ac/ major appliance broke from 7/30 til 8/5. on 8/5 we vacated the house. the buyer came over, walked thru again (this is his 2nd walk thru) and said everything was ok. i had him sign a document that i hand wrote saying that everything was ok. he actually signed it twice, as did I, so we both had original "copies". i gave my copy to my attorney.
on 8/7 was when the buyers called their attorney and said they had some issues (which were again stupid things- such as they didnt know how to turn the ceiling fan on, so it must be broken; it wasn't they had to use the remote control.) their attorney called my attorney, who is the holder of the escrow money and is also my father-in-law. i called the buyer directly and resolved the issues with the buyer over the phone. he promised to call his attorney, have the escrow released and i'd have it by friday (which would've been 8/9). but according to my attorney, their attorney never called to agree to release the funds, so my attorney couldn't (wouldn't?) release the escrow back to us on just my say so.
then, on 8/22, a written letter was faxed to my attorney from their attorney which was dated 8/17. the letter was written by my buyers with a whole slew of silly things. my attorney said that nothing could be done, either they had to agree to let us have our money back or they would have to start a claim against it within 60 days of the day we moved out- so that would be 10/4.
i just dont understand how no one seems to be acknowledging the signed document from 8/5 saying to release the funds. i guess if they do follow thru on their threat to sue, that the judge will say that they don't have any right to anything, regardless of whatever they find to be wrong (which can't be much, i know how i left my 5 year old house) because they agreed to release the money on 8/5.
is it possible that the judge will ignore that document too?
Anything is possible, but I doubt a judge would ignore that. It's clear the buyers are greedy and unreasonable. Judges have seen this routine before and they generally don't like people who file against escrow accounts in bad faith.
I think you'll do well in small claims court - it sounds like you've been methodical in documenting this whole process. Hopefully you have additional documentation that you didn't leave the place damaged (pictures?!) that will back up the letter.
If they sue you in small claims court, file a counter suit for court expenses, parking fees at the courthouse and whatever else your attorney recommends. This will give the judge an easy way to play nice guy and "settle" the case by dismissing both claims and telling you to take the escrow money and go. Or, if the buyers really annoy him, he can make them pay you $200 for your troubles!
Last edited by LOL_Whut; 09-27-2013 at 08:01 PM..
Reason: typo
on 8/5 we vacated the house. the buyer came over, walked thru again (this is his 2nd walk thru) and said everything was ok. i had him sign a document that i hand wrote saying that everything was ok. he actually signed it twice, as did I, so we both had original "copies". i gave my copy to my attorney.
It sounds like your father-in-law/attorney messed up by not releasing your escrow immediately upon receiving evidence of compliance (within the 48 hours as contracted). However, what's done is done. You'll just need to try to treat this as a learning experience and make the best of it. Good luck. Actually, if you're lucky, maybe they won't follow through.
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