By-owner escrow money

What is the name of your state? az
we agreed on sale price based on sellar's word of former appraisal. we had inspection and as home needed a lot of work, agreed on price $35 below the "appraised" amount. our lender ordered appraisal which came in $35K below our agreed-upon price. sellar won't renegotiate price and now wants 1/2 of the $5K earnest money which is in escrow, as he suffered damages by taking his house off the market, he had others lined up to buy, we broke the contract, etc. contract is very minimal and states nothing re: the earnest money.tile co. appears to have "ties" to sellar. what are our rights with re:to getting our money back. does he have any? thanks.

[FarmerJ]

Arrange for a consultation with a Attorney who specializes in real estate thats your best bet to have all your paper work reviewed so you get the best possible advice . If you do not know of a local atty then by all means use the link up top FIND A LAWYER and arrange for consultation .

Read your contract VERY CAREFULLY. I'm in Texas, but our contract has a paragraph that says if the home appraises below the agreed upon price, the buyer does not have to buy the property.
Also, go to the title company and turn in a written request for the return of your escrow monies. In our state that will prevent the Title company from giving the money to the buyer while you seek legal advice. Also, if the Seller does not protest that written statement they will give you back the money after a month or so. Again, this how I've seen it in Texas, but I bet your state is close to it.

Is there a financing contingency in your contract? If the house didn't appraise and the lender won't loan you the amount agreed upon because of it you can walk away with your deposit if there is a financing contingency saying this. Many contracts have this contingency, (because most people hire realtors who will make sure it's in there) but, as always, you need to read your contract.

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by B.M. Loney
[b]What is the name of your state? az
we agreed on sale price based on sellar's word of former appraisal.

**A: Buyers should never, ever accept and/or agree to use a Seller's value and base the sales price on such value.
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we had inspection and as home needed a lot of work, agreed on price $35 below the "appraised" amount. our lender ordered appraisal which came in $35K below our agreed-upon price. sellar won't renegotiate price and now wants 1/2 of the $5K earnest money which is in escrow, as he suffered damages by taking his house off the market, he had others lined up to buy, we broke the contract, etc. contract is very minimal and states nothing re: the earnest money.tile co. appears to have "ties" to sellar. what are our rights with re:to getting our money back. does he have any? thanks.

**A: have an attorney review your contract but it appears that you entered into a homemade hokey-pokey contract favoring the Sellers.

Yup--it is indeed a hokey pokey contract with absolutely no mention of any contingencies, what happens to deposits. It is barely a contract as it is entitled "Instructions to Escrow", 1 page, very basic.The issue is, since there is no mention....is the sellar entitled to any of the escrow deposit? Do we just "instuct" the title co. to cancel escrow and request our deposit be returned? The sellar has been in touch w/the the title co. We never, ever dreamed it would apparaise $70K below sellars "former appraisal". Live and Learn.

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by B.M. Loney
[b]Yup--it is indeed a hokey pokey contract with absolutely no mention of any contingencies, what happens to deposits. It is barely a contract as it is entitled "Instructions to Escrow", 1 page, very basic.The issue is, since there is no mention....is the sellar entitled to any of the escrow deposit? Do we just "instuct" the title co. to cancel escrow and request our deposit be returned? The sellar has been in touch w/the the title co. We never, ever dreamed it would apparaise $70K below sellars "former appraisal". Live and Learn.

**A: hire a real estate attorney fast.