End Buyer can't perform and now wants their 'non-refundable' earnest money back

[Belinda Lopez]

Wow - I was just informed that one of my end buyers was unable to perform on a Wholesale transaction and since the contract is now out of date, the seller is moving on to another buyer. I even had in my Assignment of Contract contract that if my Buyer could not close for any reason, they would assign the contract back to me and I would close the transaction. I also provided the Buyer with several resources for hard money an private money loans; all of which he said were too expensive! Wow, just really upset that this guy is out there tying up properties and that I've lost not just the assignment fee but now he wants the non-refundable earnest money back ($1k). Contract states that the earnest money would only be returned if a clear title could not be produced; it was.

This Buyer is attempting to buy several commercial properties in the Houston area so Wholesalers be ware. Email me privately if you'd like a name so you can be wary of dealing with someone like that in the future.

Another expensive lesson learned; guess I need a way to better filter my buyers and tighten up my Assignment contract even more.

Good luck everyone!

Belinda

[J Scott]

Not sure if you're asking for opinions or are just venting, but personally, I wouldn't return the money. This is a great lesson to that "investor" that contracts are more than just casual agreement, and that he needs to understand his responsibilities and live up to them (or suffer the consequences).