I had a contract on my condo in fla,I overnited the condo docs and they were received on sept 20th,on the 28th of sept my agent called me and said the buyer was breaking the contract due to a up coming divorce.She said the legal reason was the buyer could cancel with in 3 days of reading the condo docs.My agent said her fax was out of paper so that is why she took so long to get back to me,she said the agent representing the buyer sent her a fax on the 24th of sept and she never got it .My agent told me she found out about the breaking of the contract on the 27th by phone from the buyers agent.My question is why should I return the 5000 dollar deposit?

Because the Contract gave her a three BUSINESS day window to cancel. It appears the buyer exercised the out clause properly. Therefore, the deposit should be refunded.

Hello jim:

I agree with Scott. If she cancelled within the three day window, then she's due a refund. However, I would want a little more documentation that she, in fact, did meet the deadline.

Clearly, your agent is a dufus, so you can't count on anything from her. I would talk to the buyer's agent. Ask to see the original fax. How did the buyer communicate her cancellation to her agent? By telephone? Telephone might not be good enough. Real estate transactions MUST be in writing.

If the documentation you're supplied with doesn't satisfy you, keep the money. But if it does, don't cheat her.

excon

Buyer's agent should have HAND DELIVERED the cancellation signed by the buyer... both of these agents are SLOPPY and unprofessional.

Talk to your agent's office broker.