We put in an offer on a house in late August with $2K down as Earnest Money. The offer was accepted, we paid for the inspection. The inspection went well. There were a few minor issues such as fixing some faucets and a toilet but the Seller could handle that, according to his realtor. So we paid for the appraisal. There were more issues that had to be dealt with before we could receive the loan, mainly having to do with blistering, peeling lead paint and replacing the gutters but there were a few other things. Seller signed the addendum stating he would take care of all of these issues. So we started our daugther in the school she would be attending so that she didn't have to move schools a couple of weeks into the term. We got word on Monday that the Seller changed his mind, stopped the repairs and was letting the house go back to the bank. We were supposed to close today. Apparently, he just packed up and went back to CA and won't respond to his realtor's emails or phone calls.
We aren't happy with our realtor's response to our question of how do we get our earnest money back. She just said it was a hassle so to assume he would sign the Termination Agreement we forwarded to him. I want to know exactly what steps we need to take so that we can be prepared. There are a couple of other houses we might want to move on but can't until this transaction is completed and we can fire our realtor. Any ideas? We are in Oregon.
Also, what about the possibility of suing for breach of contract? Our realtor didn't even mention this as a possibility and when a friend asked about it, she poohed poohed it saying we could but if he was willing to let his house go to the bank, most likely we wouldn't ever get our money. In my mind, it isn't so much about the money, it is about the principle of the thing.
We aren't happy with our realtor's response to our question of how do we get our earnest money back. She just said it was a hassle so to assume he would sign the Termination Agreement we forwarded to him. I want to know exactly what steps we need to take so that we can be prepared. There are a couple of other houses we might want to move on but can't until this transaction is completed and we can fire our realtor. Any ideas? We are in Oregon.
Also, what about the possibility of suing for breach of contract? Our realtor didn't even mention this as a possibility and when a friend asked about it, she poohed poohed it saying we could but if he was willing to let his house go to the bank, most likely we wouldn't ever get our money. In my mind, it isn't so much about the money, it is about the principle of the thing.
