On 23 Oct 2005 14:56:12 -0700, someone wrote:


What is our best option to cancel the sale and list the house if what
the buyer says is true?

What does your lawyer say?

The escrow company is not YOUR lawyer, and they can't do anything with
the funds unless BOTH parties agree (or they receive a court order
from someone).

Cancelling the sale is one thing. If they did not close by a time is
of the essence deadline, well ask your lawyer how good a chance you
have (sounds good to me).

The earnest money is something else entirely. Why would the (dumped)
Buyer agree to turn it over to you? YOU think you are entitled to it,
but you'll probably need to convince a judge to go along with that
before you can ram it down the other guy's throat. What I have done
in similar cases is to settle for giving back half. But if there is a
broker involved, they may still try to claim their commission out of
the escrow!!

So if you think you can sell it for more, AND you have a valid reason
under the contract to cancel it, then go ahead, cancel, give them back
their earnest money, and then sell it to the next guy. If you want to
sell it for more PLUS keep the earnest money too, in addition to
looking a bit greedy, it looks like something that would require a
lawsuit. The escrow company will just sit on it until they get either
joint instructions or a court order.


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