Q: Can a home seller ask for earnest deposit 6 weeks after we backed out of the deal?
David, us and the seller did sign a contract, we then met with the bank for the mortgage application but never got it started because the mortgage executive said it will be declined if we can't come up with the closing cost(but we weren't officially declined since an application was not started) We told our realtor right after our appoint that we were surprised at how much we have to come up with up front and we don't have it. After some back and forth for 2 days we asked if we can back out of the deal and she said we can w no penalty. That was the end if it. Almost 2 months later, the realtor sends us an email saying we have to sign a release and mail the 1k check. Couldn't the seller have cancelled the contract since it's past the closing date? Why weren't we asked to sign a release as soon as we said we couldn't afford the house? Isn't it the realtors responsibility to make sure the earnest money is collected and deposited in an escrow account? They only have a pict of the check.
A: You did not say whether you actually had entered into a contract for this transaction, signed by both parties, or whether you never made it past off and acceptance stage. If you did not have a signed contract, in me too view there was no deal and you should have been able to walk at any time. If you did have a signed contract, then it should have included a financing contingency, permitting you to unwind the deal and receive a refund of your full contract deposit if you were unable to obtain a mortgage commitment after a good-faith effort. I would not sign any release without having the full amount of your contract deposit returned to you.
1 user found this answer helpful
A: Pay nothing. There is no such thing in New York. Sign nothing as you never had a deal for anything.
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