Seller Misses Inspection Response Deadline

[Derek Luttrell]

Hi All,

I am under contract on what would be 8th rental, but have run into something new. After going under contract, I had my usual inspection done, and then submitted formal repair requests to the seller. The response deadline I set was 6/24, and on 6/24 they submitted an extension request to 6/26 (yesterday) to decide what repairs they do or do not agree to do. My requests demand that a licensed electrician and licensed plumber do some work that the inspector said needed to be done, with receipts provided to show who performed said repairs.

My buyer's agent has told me that he "believes" the repairs have been worked on, but he does not know who did them. Also, it is now 6/27 (past the extension deadline), and I have not received any actual response from the seller regarding my requests. I also told my agent multiple times that I wasn't going to order the appraisal until the repairs were done (or we at least received the seller's response), yet yesterday he e-mailed my lender to "go ahead and schedule the appraisal" without notifying me first. We have done 5 deals together in 15 months, and he had earned my trust, but it really felt like he was trying to pull a fast one by talking to my lender behind my back.

My question is--since the response deadline has past, and I have nothing in writing that says the seller has actually agreed to the repair requests, am I free to walk with my $1,000 earnest money deposit returned to me? My loan has been approved pending nothing more than the appraisal.