Florida Real Estate Attorneys

Q: Florida real estate escrow deposit, our funding was denied can we get the deposit funds back? We signed a contract to purchase the home, we had conditional approval. We attempted to meet all the conditions. We met them all and then a hurricane damaged the house and we had to extend the closing date until after the repairs were made. After four months, the repairs were made... then at the last minute our company called us and told us the conditions weren't met and we were denied. This took place in 2004. We have been attempting to get our funds back ever since. The sellers claim they should get the deposit funds back. We obviously think we should get them back. We filed in small claims and go to mediation on Monday. They have hired an attorney, we didn't think we would need one in small claims. What should we do? Who should get the money?

A: I am not a real estate attorney. I am a Realtor in Florida. You were the Buyer, correct? What does your contract say about financing? Which FAR or FAR/BAR contract was used? Or, what did your Realtor include in the offer, which was accepted, regarding financing? If you haven't already done so, get a letter from the LENDER,

not the loan officer or mortgage broker, stating clearly you did NOT meet all conditions resulting in the loan DENIAL. Why has this taken so long to settle? Did you have a Realtor involved? Typically, escrow disputes are pretty clear. Title companies typically will not take a position. They'll simply refer you to arbitration. Many, many times I've represented customers who've suffered a similar experience, i.e. sellers refusing to release the binder. A letter from an attorney has weakened the most stubborn sellers 100% of the time. Granted, the buyers I represented were in the right. I don't know all details of your situation, i.e. contract used, and 4-month delay.