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Option Contract for Vehicle being Sold, questions

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WhenInRome

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Florida, Santa Rosa county.

7 days ago, I received $200 to hold my vehicle for a man that agreed to purchase it within 8 days, tomorrow. I gave him a written contract saying:
"
I, "my name" recieved $200 toward the full payment of $500 for my Ford Escort. "Buyer's name" agrees to pay remaining amount within 8 days.
"
He called today, and asked for the money back to buy another car. Now I have held my car at a price lower than advertised, for a week, and am moving across the country 2 weeks from today, so I am running short on time to sell it.

I found this information on a legal help website:

E. Options. An option is an offer which contains a promise by the offeror that it will be held open for a stated period of time and will be irrevocable for that time if supported by consideration. For example, if someone wanted to buy Tom’s car but needed a little more time to come up with the full amount of money, she could pay Tom, perhaps, $500, to keep the offer open for a month. At any time during that month, the buyer can purchase the car for the full amount. If the buyer fails to purchase the car after a month, then the seller can withdraw the offer and keep the $500 because the money is compensation (or consideration) for keeping the offer open for a month, when the seller could have found someone else to buy the car.

If he doesn't pay within 8 days, do I have to give him the deposit back?

Was the $200 deposit non-refundable because it was payment for keeping the offer open for a week, as compensation?

Would it even be worth his trouble if he decided to file a civil suit over $200, or are court costs too high to try something like that?

Thank you so much for all of your help!

Kenneth
 


shortbus

Member
You didn't have an option contract. You had a regular contract that was partially performed. So his money was a deposit, not payment for the option.

Here's the difference: an option contract suggests that the buyer can still freely choose to follow through (or not) with the transaction. It seems clear from your description that both you & and the buyer intended to complete the transaction.

The buyer has breached the contract. If you sell to another buyer, you would be entitled to the difference between the price you sold it for and the buyer's price, plus any incidental costs associated with re-listing it for sale. This may be more or less than $200. You're not entitled to keep the $200 just to punish the buyer.
 

WhenInRome

Junior Member
So if I sold the car for $350 to another buyer without advertising it, I would be entitled to $150 from the first buyer that breached the contract?
 

shortbus

Member
Yes, exactly right. But, your costs of collecting the $150 (through small claims court) would be prohibitive, especially since you're moving out of the area.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
shortbus said:
Yes, exactly right. But, your costs of collecting the $150 (through small claims court) would be prohibitive, especially since you're moving out of the area.
Yes; get out of this deal as cheaply as you can. Going to court is an expensive option.
 

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