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That isw the right outcome. I would now sue the buyer in small claims court for the full 2500. Defiance may no-t0 get it all but problably a good part. And you get even...
Again this is a two house transacton. The seller is the buyer in the other transaction. So in the moral sense he punishes the other seller as well as taking on the costs of getting everything put back together.
I would agree that a late cancellation favors the seller. But not if an issue exists...and an issue exists. The seller can tie up the earnest money but not get at it. If it gets nasty the buyer can easily tie up the house and prevent a further sale. And both can pay thousands of dollars to lawyers to protect their interests.
Nope..you close it and then fight...if you are going to fight at all.
You won't get an argument from me, Olecapt. You do what you can - apply pressure where you can, but you get it closed. A lot depends on the state you live in. Here in AZ, the non-breaching party would get the earnest money right away and escrow would be cancelled immediately. We don't let things drag on with things tied up for an extended period. I've had California clients who were selling their home and it was a nightmare for them to get escrow cancelled. Not so here in AZ. It's quick and it's clean (or at least the escrow companies here in Prescott that I've used make it short and sweet).
You won't get an argument from me, Olecapt. You do what you can - apply pressure where you can, but you get it closed. A lot depends on the state you live in. Here in AZ, the non-breaching party would get the earnest money right away and escrow would be cancelled immediately. We don't let things drag on with things tied up for an extended period. I've had California clients who were selling their home and it was a nightmare for them to get escrow cancelled. Not so here in AZ. It's quick and it's clean (or at least the escrow companies here in Prescott that I've used make it short and sweet).
How you do that? The breaching party here is of course disputed. Your escrow actually decides who is right?
When it's spelled out point blank, what's to dispute? Very well written contracts take care of a lot of issues. It's one of the reasons to make sure your realtor knows how to write an air-tight contract. If it's a gray area, then the buyer and seller agree to arbitration.
And, yes, if a party is obviously in breach per the contract Lines 116 thru 120 of the AZ contract allow for the title company to release the earnest money at their sole discretion in accord with the terms of the contract, and the parties agree to hold harmless the title company.
When it's spelled out point blank, what's to dispute? Very well written contracts take care of a lot of issues. It's one of the reasons to make sure your realtor knows how to write an air-tight contract. If it's a gray area, then the buyer and seller agree to arbitration.
And, yes, if a party is obviously in breach per the contract Lines 116 thru 120 of the AZ contract allow for the title company to release the earnest money at their sole discretion in accord with the terms of the contract, and the parties agree to hold harmless the title company.
Boy you guys practice screwed up Real Estate. I have not read anything so impossible to interpret since an old insurance policy from the 20s.
The entire section about breaches and related stuff should be called the AZ lawyers full employment act.
I will agree that the contract authorizes paying the earnest money on breach...but it does not define what happens when the breach is disputed or in an alleged double breach. Nor would any rational escrow company pay it.
I also would strongly suggest that my client over-ride that clause with one that provides for payment only on agreement or a court order. I would suggest any RE Agent looking out for their clients best interest would do the same. Don't you folk in AZ look after your clients best interest? I would think opening a client to a potential kangaroo court in some Escrow Company is not in the clients best interest. The very idea that an escrow company is in a position to determine the righteousness of a breach or competiting breaches is ludicrous. Not only do you have the escrow company practicing law you have then acting as the judge.
There is nothing simliar in a Nevada Contract nor, I beilieve, in the CA one.
I guess the proof is in the pudding. We have very few lawsuits here in AZ, mainly because our contracts are so well written. We also rarely have any of this 11th hour bs that the OP described. The buyer and the seller know exactly where they stand and exactly what they stand to lose if they don't abide by the terms of the contract.
Which, by the way, the AAR contract thoroughly defines what happens if the breach is disputed (on page 7 under Remedies).
But you'd try to rewrite the plain and simple language of the contract?? And rather than mediation, you'd force your client to have to spend the money getting a judgment or hiring an attorney to defend himself in such a suit???? No wonder there's so many attorneys in NV and CA!
After seeing my CA clients go through a MESS with trying to get an escrow (that was technically never opened) cancelled - No Thank You!
man, that was stressful... The way everything had gone thus far, I was almost certain that the buyer would find some excuse to not close... I was thinking maybe this whole thing was really a case of buyer's remorse... so when I saw those signed papers, HUGE relief. I move in Saturday.
thanks for letting me vent, and all advice is appreciated. I'm not taking them to small claims court; it's just too much trouble - and when I really put it into perspective, if they'd have made their offer and initially asked for $2500 in closing costs (which, since this was an FHA loan, was how they wrote in the change), I'd have still taken it.
I did tell my realtor to make sure the buyer's mom's boyfriend didn't show up until we were left, though. I do *NOT* want to meet that man! :P
Yay! Congrats on closing!!! You can take a deep breath now!
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