How do I get my earnest money back????

**zatanaz** · 02-28-2008, 12:09 PM

Hello there and thank you in advance for your responses.

Put a contract to buy a house on August 2007.
Paid $500 to the title company for earnest money.
There were all kinds of issues with the title.
Time went on and on and the deal could never close.
I decided to cancel the contract in November.
I have asked the title company to refund me my $500.
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]They sent me a form

**Jim B** · 02-28-2008, 01:13 PM

Sorry to hear about the experence you are having. At this point I would say that you need to talk with an attorney and this may be a case where it costs more to get the $500 released than it is worth. In any event the seller does not have access to the money either.

**Mike Taylor** · 02-29-2008, 05:30 AM

Jim's right. The title company cannot release the $ with out the sellers signatures. You might to have an attorney fire off a letter, but I am guessing that $500 is gone unless you want to spend $1000 to get it.

**realestate360** · 03-02-2008, 08:41 AM

In this case, would it be possible for this buyer to file a suit and include the attorney fees (or an amount that would cover the fees) in with the lawsuit? I have heard of this being done before, though not dealing with real estate. Of course, there would probably still be out-of-pocket expense to deal with the attorney initially, but at least such a route might help this buyer to recoup their losses.

Is there no organization that can provide assistance to the buyer in a case like this? If not, then I find such methods in real estate to be very one-sided (not at all in favor of the consumer). It seems like issues such as these should be regulated somehow. I understand the title company's position, but I'm sure this buyer isn't the only one who's come across such a situation.

-Real Estate 360[SIZE=-1]

**carlam** · 03-03-2008, 04:34 AM

The title company does not want to be responsible for any legal issues that may arise if they release the funds without the signature of the seller.

It may be worth at least a call to a Real Estate Attorney and pose the question, maybe even write a letter requesting release of escrow for a nominal fee.