My husband and I sold a property to a lady who paid a little more than half of the required down payment. It was understood and she agreed to pay the remaining monies due, put the utilities in her name before August 15, 2008. The paper work was to have been finalizied August 18, 2008. I have tried several times to contact her and left several messages, however, she has not returned our calls. It has been approximately four weeks since we entered into this ageement. Can we legally put the house back on the market and are we required to refund her deposit? The house is located in Missouri

OK first if you were stelling a house on a contract there is no "deposit" there is a down payment. And what does the actual contract say, all of mine always say that if they default all monies paid are lost and keep by the seller. But you say "paper work to be final on 18" you did not let them move in without a final paper work. If you don't have a signed contract, I am not sure what to say,

I have to disagree with Chuck. There is usually a deposit paid at signing of initial sales contract. This deposit is often made refundable only if the buyer cannot find financing, otherwise it is forfeited if the sale is not completed by the buyer. Its purpose is to insure that the buyer complete the sales transaction. The down payment is specified by the lender and is the difference between the sale price and the amount the lender is willing to finance.

I take that this is a sale by owner. What kind of sales contract did you use, surely not a verbal agreement. Was this going to be seller financed? If so, you better get some legal advise.

It's impossible to answer your question without more details, such as whether this was a deposit for a sale contract or whether it was a down payment for an installment sale on which you hold the financing.

I think it's safe to say, in either case, that you should not put the property back on the market until this issue is settled one way or another. The woman who put the money down still has rights in the property now either way, and even if your language states that she loses the down payment/earnest money deposit, she can still cause trouble for you later.

It's never a good idea to leave yourself open to the buyer's performance on a deal like this, other than for making the usual payments. Next time make sure all arrangements like utilities, etc are in place before giving possession, and just be ready to collect the payments.

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Originally Posted by hkstroud

This deposit is often made refundable only if the buyer cannot find financing, otherwise it is forfeited if the sale is not completed by the buyer.

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There's no financing to obtain. The owner was acting as seller and banker.

Did you have an attorney draw up the contract? Where are you located? (Sorry if I just didn't catch it.)

Can you not march over there, at an odd hour if necessary, to "force" a face-to-face meeting?

At this point, I would involve an attorney. In many places contracts for deed have become all but illegal. You can still do them, but you have to follow a BUNCH of very specific rules or you can basically get hit with HUGE penalties, even to the point of losing the property. To settle this matter, with this lady, and for any future transactions if you wind up re-listing the property you need sound legal advice.

So what is your attorney advising that you do?

Where are you located?

Have you attempted to visit the buyer at home?