seller attempting to keep my EM!!

[Jerrell Slay]

6 days ago I entered in to a contract with a seller, my contract has a inspection contingency and a counteroffer contingency, I am well within my 10 day due diligence period and I have decided to exercise my inspection clause after my partner pointed several concerns a counteroffer was also made and the seller turned it down, I emailed him with a written notice of cancellation, I went to the title company and they basically said that he has to give his  approval to refund my EM, now the guy is dragging his feet and doesn't answer his phone when I call, and the title company says that their attorney has to look over the contract and decided how my EM should be disbursed! In my contract it says if required the escrow agent will file a interpleader in court. Any advice is very appreciated 

[Verna M.]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

If the title company said their attorney just needs to look it over, that doesn't sound unreasonable to me.  And basically, you're getting a free attorney to look at the contract and tell the seller, yep, you have to pay him.

If your contract says email communication is acceptable, and if you've done any emailing between yourself and the seller and the title company, then that should be an accepted form of communication between you all, from what I've read.

And you only had to put up $500 for earnest money?  Wow.  Even way back in the day, I had to put down at least $1,000.  

totally off topic but when I was selling a house I had it listed at 400k. i got an offer with an EM check for $400. 

its so funny because I took the  check,  shredded it up, put it on the photocopier and made a picture of the shredded up the check.  I tried to fax it back to the buyer's agent as my way of saying no. 

what's even more funny was I declined their offer without even a counter offer. (it was a piece of s*** offer) and they sent me two more offers stupid people

thankfully my agent at the time wouldn't let me do that. she probably saved me from many lawsuits but it makes me wonder about so many of these things I read on bigger pockets.  and it just makes me laugh. it also makes me miss the way we used to do business in my old gig. We would just tell it like it is