Remember that this is the tenant's home and they will not react well if they feel threatened.

Unfortunately, at this time she started threatening to call the health department, saying that the pests were causing her son to have asthma, that we paid people under the table to have it pass inspections...it was a lot that was relayed to me via our PM.

It was rather threatening, so I called the city as I have an active rental license.

Not sure I'd take the threatening approach out of the gate. 

Even with the note being paid, the banks will still send threatening letters.

Regardless, I would think this is grounds for recourse... if you can prove it that is.I would ask an attorney, but probably the best idea is to threaten the agent with a lawsuit and try to get the agent to cough up the EMD, but back out and lose the earnest money if you can't the agent to cough up.

You could have threatened a Quiet Title suit.

I like a few  things about SFH. (1)My tenants tend to stay longer, because it feels like a home, they have more stuff to move, and they have a garage, a yard, laundry, the things that people, leave apartments for. (2) I never get a call from one tenant saying another tenant is bothering them, threatening them, whatever

We waited for over a week on one for the adult child executor to renegotiate terms with the new wife who was widowed as she threatened to sue the estate, stalling everything, unless they agreed to give her a higher percentage than she was left in the will. 

I think we scared them because we threatened to file an eviction order and naming each of the adult children.