Seller Keeping Earnest Deposit

[Zac Vaughan]

Hey guys! 

I recently had a duplex under contract. After inspections, it turns out the duplex is not up to FHA standards and the seller was unwilling to make any updates. The seller is refusing to give back my earnest deposit($2000). It has been 3-4 weeks since the cancelation of the contract. My agent is thinking that I should hire a lawyer. What should I do?

[Russell Brazil]

Any FHA violations should have been easily noticed by your agent. Your agent should not have even let you write an offer on the property if you were using FHA financing.