Escrow Deposit Refunded

[drautmann]

I was purchasing a house through Coldwell Banker. Coldwell
Banker ask for a deposit of $1,000 to pass onto the escrow
company. Coldwell Banker chose the escrow company and the
company was shutdown by the Riverside DA office. The check
was written to Coldwell Banker. It has been over 1 year
since I cancelled the purchasing the house. I still do not
have my deposit returned. I filed a small claims and will
appear in court on January 26. All I have is a copy of the
contract for the house and the cashed checked that was
cashed by the escrow company, not Coldwell Banker. Any
suggestions to help me win my case when I appear. What are
my chances of winning?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Denise

 

[David J. Miller]

It really depends on whether you violated the terms of the contract when you canceled it. If you canceled the loan because a contingency could not be met, you should have been due a refund. If you got cold feet and decided to cancel for no other good reason, CB Burnet could argue that you were NOT due a refund for this reason and they in turn would actually be the offended party.

If you did cancel because you could not satisfy a contingency i.e. could not obtain financing, home did not pass home inspection, appraisal cam back low etc... you should bring the proper evidence of this to court with you to show the judge that you canceled the purchase in accordance with the terms of the contract and were due a refund of your EM deposit.

 

[HomeGuru]

Be prepared for CB to argue that they have no money of yours since escrow cashed the check. Therefore file your claim with the DA office.