Earnest money not being returned

[Abdul R.]

Hello All,

The quick story....

I entered into a contract to purchase a quadplex in Noblesville, Indiana but the seller never did their part to provide the items I requested in the purchase agreement such as repairs item lists, initial walk-thru's  and rental payment history within the first 2 weeks as stated in the purchase contract. I in turn took a great deal amount of time (in good faith), trying to find multiple contractors to try to make the deal work, . Ultimately, the numbers did not work and I had to back out; but now the seller refuses to return the earnest money, stating " When we were presented with the release we were well outside the inspection period and we feel it is only fair for us to retain the earnest money as damages."

Spoke to my realtor, he states the EM is with the brokerage company.  My realtor said maybe we make a deal to get half of the EM ($500.00 out of the 1k) back but I don't want that. I don't see why I need to do that, as it is MY MONEY.  What options do I have?