All Forum Posts by: Brooklyn A.

The lawyer said there is grounds for a case and asked for a large deposit for his services. He said there is no guarantee of judgment. He also suggested to file complaints with CAR and DRE.

We're going to send a personal demand letter asking them to perform or we'll pursue legal action. I'm considering asking for an amount larger than the deposit and moving onto a new deal.

There are still a ton of properties that may be better deals.

Sorry, for the late reply, very late day at the office. I appreciate all the help. You're all amazing resources.

Jake Kucheck, all the forms mentioned were what our agent asked to be signed. We're planning on operating the unit as a rental, can we or a family member move in to hurry it along?

As far as rent control, the property is not exempt from rent control, but I don't believe the property was ever registered for rent control.

K. Marie Poe we're speaking to a lawyer tomorrow, I think a lis pendens is a great idea. That will show them we're serious to close. So far they offered to return all the earnest money minus a few fees. I think they should be forced to sell or pay damages.

Brian P. I like the idea of naming my own price to agree to cancel. What would be a fair request? The property appreciated a solid 10% since the original close date.

K. Marie Poe Right, I assumed it was a probate. Likely that is is not. I agree, we don't want to let it go but don't want to risk losing our earnest money.

Our agent is not helpful at all, he's looking to make a sale and is already trying to push new properties on us. On the cancellation of escrow form, all it says is "unit not vacant" under seller failed to take contractual action. I did notice that the form also says that both buyer and seller are choosing to cancel. We don't want to sign.

As far as rent control, I'm pretty certain the unit is under rent control. Shouldn't the landlord be required to pay relocation to the current tenant since they agreed to deliver the unit vacant?

Rick Harmon At this point we've been stuck trying to close this property and have likely missed on the much lower values of earlier this year. It may be a bit of a hassle to deal with this, but we'd like to keep trying to close. We just don't want to risk losing the earnest money.

Thanks for the responses Wayne Brooks, Rick Harmon, K. Marie Poe. All very helpful. I just gathered a bit more info that may clarify a bit.

The property is being sold by the trustee, that means it's already probated right? Not 100% clear because the purchase agreement is not on a probate form but on a residential income purchase form.

The property is currently a 3 unit, one that is 2 beds, the other two are each one bed. Legally, the property is 2 units, each 2 beds. Also in the purchase agreement under "other terms" it states that the property will be delivered with the currently occupied 1 bedroom vacant.

To add a twist, the current tenant in the one bedroom is/was an heir to the estate but does not have control as she is not the trustee.

Edit: I agree with Rick, I think this is too good of a deal and they don't want to follow through.

Also, @Rick to answer your question about cancellation, the selling agent sent over a cancellation of contract, release of deposit form as well as a demand to close escrow.

First time post, long time lurker. Please excuse if this is on the wrong board.

We have a purchase agreement in escrow for a property in the city of Los Angeles. The property was going through probate and the sellers are not performing and sent a CAR Demand to Close Escrow.

At this point, we, the buyers have performed, everything is ready to go but they're no longer looking to close escrow. The original escrow close date was in March.

If we agree to close escrow, the agents are not agreeing to return all of the earnest money, some will be returned, some they say will be credited back on a future purchase.

From my understanding as a former RE professional (7 years ago), if a seller decides to fall out of, or close escrow, they are still required to pay a commission, correct? Meaning, the seller's agent and our agent likely agreed on a deal so that they don't lose on the deal. I'm pretty sure there is a breach of fiduciary there. I like to believe that we the buyers should be entitled to our full earnest money plus damages.

I realize many here are not lawyers, you're collective advice is nonetheless helpful. My questions is, what are our rights here?

We don't want to walk away from escrow because the market has picked up since and the property has appreciated significantly. We want the property for the agreed upon price. Can we force a sale by refusing to sign the demand to close?

Thanks for the help!