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Buying or Selling a Home/My agent told me I don't need earnest money but the seller wants it

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Expert: - 5/25/2011


Question
Hi All experts,
I signed a contract to buy a house in Dec last year. There is an earnest money mentioned in the contract but no one collects it from me. In March, I looked for a new job and thinking about walking away from the contract. I called my agent asking what I will lose and specifically asked about the earnest money. He looked at the contract and said it's an credit from the seller. In May I got the job and tell seller that I will walk away, the seller ask for the earnest money from the escrow but it's not in there. I found out that my agent received an instruction from seller in Dec. how to handle the money but he neglected it. Now the seller said they will sue me if the money is not in escrow. What should I do in this case?

Thank you for your help in advance.
Matt

Answer
Dear Matt;
Your agent needed to collect the earnest money and deposit it into an escrow or trust account as per contract agreement.  Since he/she failed to do so the agent is  in violation of ethical conduct.  Please contact the agent's broker in charge and discuss what needs to be done.  There are two issues.  The seller feels that they have been hurt by your backing out of the contract and this might be a dispute that needs to be legally settled.  The seller can't keep the earnest money if you dispute it.  It becomes a legal matter.  The other issue is the ethical conduct of your agent and this will be handled by the Brokerage.

Best wishes,
Jessica Bryan

Buying or Selling a Home

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Jessica Bryan

Expertise

buying and selling process such as:
General questions from first time buyers
How to market a home
Why choose a REALTOR
How do I find a REALTOR
Should I consider buying or selling without a REALTOR--how much can I save
Should I remodel or move
How much can I expect to gain by fixing up my home before selling
Helpful tips when selling
Helpful tips when buying
finding a good mortgage loan
what is the difference between banks, mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers
Questions from the general public, people thinking about getting their real estate license, newly licensed.
Fellow professionals who have interests in networking and how to get started
What is a market evaluation and how does it differ from an appraisal what are the different loan programs
services a REALTOR can perform
when to use a lawyer
when to use escrow
what are the regional differences in the buying and selling process
what is the MLS and how does it work
how can the layman access information on the web--listings and other information
These are just a few of the questions. I can suggest that if I am unable to answer a question I will refer the inquiry to a source that can.

Experience

Anyone who is in this business and who dedicates oneself to professionalism has continued to take classes and along with it,additional credentials, awards and honors. I can list a host of them, but my greatest accomplishments happen to be those of getting first time buyers (who didn't think they could afford to buy a home)into a home of their dreams. The look on their faces when I hand over the keys is worth all of the hard work.

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