Realtors - Seller wants to back out of a contract after accepting a offer?

[Luke Moses]

I'm a new agent and I agreed to help a couple sell their home.  They came to me because I purchased the house next door - my rental - and had been doing some repairs myself.  To make a long story short they were very motivated to sell because of some financial problems.  I agreed to list the property at a higher price than I really believed they could get for their home.  We agreed to start high and then come down until we start getting some interest and this made them happy... until it was time to start lowering the price.  

Well, they were a lot less flexible than I thought they would be given their current financial woes.  They rejected a serious offer that was just a few thousand below list early on in the process.  Multiple weeks later they accepted a full price offer and then went bananas when the buyers wanted them to make some small repairs that were brought to light through the inspection.  I started to suspect their inflexibility was due to a change in their circumstances and a desire to stay in their home and this was confirmed.  The wife confirmed that her husband was waffling and not sure he wanted to move any longer.  

Realtors, have you ever come across this scenario before?  They beat me up all along the way, made crazy demands - in my opinion - and now they want to back out of the contract after accepting a full price offer.  I obviously have told them that they are contractually bound to sell their home at this point.  But, should I put my feelers out with the buyers agent and see if they are willing to allow them to back out of the contract? The buyers have already paid a option fee, performed a inspection and they are making plans to move here from another state because of a job transfer.  

I know what my fiduciary duty is and I have discussed the issue with my broker but I'm just curious how often this kind of thing happens and how you did or would address the situation?     

[Account Closed]

Specific Performance

http://legalcareers.about.com/od/glossary/g/specificperform.htm

Most cases like this end in cancellation of the contract otherwise the Realtor will get negative publicity.  The buyer will be tied up in court and can't move forward on another property.  This is where the negotiation skills come in.   Do the sellers really want to renege on the deal or just having sellers remorse?  How much are they willing to pay to get out of the deal?  Unless the realtor has had extensive expenses they will agree to cancel the listing contract in hopes of selling the property later.  The buyer will usually be willing to walk with their expenses paid compensated by the seller and maybe a little time and trouble money.