Miami Condo Purchase, Breach Of Contract

[Adam C.]

This is a crosspost from reddit,  r/realestate.

Hola - I've been in the mortgage/real estate industry since 1998, and I've never encountered this.

Had a contract to purchase a condo in Miami. Sellers and their agent were cooperative during initial contract negotiation. After contract was signed, appraisal came in 10K short. We asked to renegotiate the price, took a week to get a response with an addendum, so we moved on.

Fast forward to the close date, I show up to closing and the settlement agent informs me that the sellers have not signed as promised, and she has no contact info for the sellers, and the seller agent is non responsive. OK - so we sign and give them a day to return their signed package and leave with the keys, but technically do not have possession.

3rd day after closing and rate lock expiration, I'm informed by the lender that the settlement agent has not returned package and is non-responsive. Settlement agent informs my agent that the listing agent explained that the sellers had mailed the package to Miami from Argentina. This was the first time I'm hearing that the sellers were not in Miami. At this point, settlement agent has to return lender wire, and I re-evaluate the performance of the settlement agent. I decide that even though the seller/listing agent have been negligent, we would have never made it to the closing table if the settlement agent had done her job and made sure she had contact info and an open line of communication with sellers. I basically fire the settlement agent and find another that will take care of me.

I can still relock and close with my lender without going through the app process all over again, but there are fees and expenses associated with rescheduling the closing for both me and my lender. I have my agent write an addendum requesting a credit to cover those expenses. She had contact with listing agent during this process, so we sent it over.

It's been two days now and seller nor listing agent are responding. I'm out $1,700ish in out of pocket expenses at this point because I have paid for an appraisal, inspection and I now have a penalty for allowing the lock to expire whether I complete my business with the lender or not.

Clarification - the listing agent is a broker.  So actually, the BROKER is non-responsive and negligent.

What is my course of action here?  I'm thinking it will take longer to force this sale than I'm willing to wait to buy a place.  Can I sue for damages only?  What are the limits there?

TL;DR: Sellers breached contract and are now unresponsive, what next?