am i entitled to all of my earnest money back??

Question

i am trying to buy a house from a widow and everything was going really great and we were suppose to close on 10/29/07 and then on 10/23/07 there was a problem......the widow's step daughter decides to contest the will 1.5 years later on the man that passed and we were not able to close........they can not come up with a closing date because they have to go to court to handle it and i am wondering if i terminate the contract if i will get all of my earnest money back, plus the money i had to pay for an appraisal?

Answer 1

I don't know about the appraisal, but your earnest money has to be refunded. They can't sell with ownership contested.

Answer 2

If the family decided to contest the will then it could be held up in probate for a very long long time. You have the right to terminate this contract as it seems there is no way this contract is going to happen. Read your contract and talk to your agent, I believe if you terminate due to buyer non performance you are entitled to your earnest money deposit back, the Broker for the seller should be holding that money in escrow and therefore should have no problems issuing it back to your agent. You will not be entitled to your appraisers fee back, that's the cost of doing business I'm afraid.

Answer 3

Yes, you are entitled to get your earnest money back in its full amount. The stipulation which governs that exchange states that if the seller is unable to deliver clear title of property by date of close, then earnest money is refunded to the buyer and the contract is void.

While you are not contractually entitled to a sum equal to the amount spent on the appraisal, you can certainly ask for them to cover it-it is not an unreasonable request. You also could file a claim in court, but that's probably not really worth the effort involved.

Answer 4

The process there is probably like the process here.

You submit a form that requests the contract be terminated and both sides agree they won't take any legal action. In the form you require they give you the earnest money as part of this release. You could also ask that the seller pay you back for some expense you incurred. If the seller refuses to sign then you will have to take legal action thru a court.

I think you are more likely to get this settled without the expense of legal action by limiting your request to the earnest money.

Answer 5

You are automatically entitled to the earnest money back. When the home didn't close on 10/29 the sellers were in breach of contract.

You are also entitled to any costs associated with purchasing the home since it was not your fault that it didn't close...and the house was fully out of probate.

Not only can you sue for you appraisal back, but BOTH Realtors involved can sue for their commission, if they choose to.

Answer 6

ok, that's the way I see it. injury replaced into finished. the wear would be repaired yet you're undecided, and can't be confident, that the maintenance will cope with all available consequences of the damages that would seem sooner or later. you elect the domicile till now the winds got here through, the present house is tainted on your view. I have not got any concept what a decide might say to this, yet i think of you may in simple terms kiss off your $500 and circulate on. It replaced into an act of God so as to talk, the distributors are arranged to restoration, those are information, your concerns are hypothesis. How lots will it value you to circulate to courtroom approximately this? What are the suited and worst consequences? Given your concerns i think of dropping the earnest money isn't that widespread a cost to pay.

Answer 7

I see that some people have given you some information that is not correct.

Yes, you are entitled to all of your earnest money back plus damages.

If the seller is unable to deliver clear title to you, in addition to the obligation of the seller to direct the title company to return you earnest money, the seller is also obligated to reimburse you for your out of pocket expenses, such as the appraisal, and also for your economic losses as well.

As a practical matter it does not appear to me that you have suffered a large amount of damages, so it probably is not worth the amount of time and effort that it would take to get reimbusement for damages, such as the cost of your appraisal, beyond the return of your earnest money.

(edit) Mary B's answer above me is correct. The answers that said that you are not entitled to be reimbursed for your appraisal are not correct.

Answer 8

You can probably get your earnest money returned, since it does not appear that the seller will be able to honor the contract (offer to purchase) as agreed. However, the cost of the appraisal is yours to pay.