Seller Backs Out! What do you do?

[Austin Faux]

Hi Everyone,

We have a property that we got under contract really quick, and we own it free and clear.  We found a buyer for the property pretty quick, like the next day and we both signed a contract at an agreed upon price.  We had a few different contractors go through our property in order to get a repair bid estimates, and the buyer is saying the repairs are going to be $100,000 more than the contractors quoted. She has since decided she wants to back out of the deal and we're left trying to figure out if we should just let her go or take our contract to a lawyer?  This is our first deal by the way....lol.

Thanks!

[David Roque]

Given this is your first deal...assuming not much was lost but time, even then the time is a good learning experience. If you can keep the EMD, learn from this situation and move on to finding another buyer quickly!

Recourse may just cost you too much time and money.  In the end it is up to you what you decide to do.  

Just a thought, maybe next time try to get a larger EMD...$1000? As I am in CA, a $300 EMD just would not look good. Usually 5K and up is expected and the norm here.

Hope my input helps....DR