I've learned SO much from this site and met numerous local investors who I now consider great friends. 

Consult with your attorney but at the end of the day, if you want the person out bad enough, you can come up with numerous ways to accomplish this goal.

@Todd Dexheimer how much was your all-in gamble in 2008, if you don't mind my asking?

If it did, despite the square footage discrepency, then the seller has every right to keep your EM.As several others have noted, there are numerous ways to calculate square footage. 

Obviously, I see the value in buying the cheaper house first for numerous reasons, including that's what the VA wants us to do. 

That said, you're looking at massive amounts of debt (gambling, reckless spending, etc) for a situation to get that extreme where administrative separation is on the table, not missing a few months of rent.  

The words that you are using in your post imply a certain level of gamble.  

Numerous states and cities in America have gone bankrupt, and this will continue as they are unable to fund promises made prior to 2008.

I bought a house once that sat on the market for 400 days as a foreclosure because it stunk so bad of cat piss that no one wanted to take a gamble on it.

Many new members tend to ask questions that have been asked numerous times over and reap a fleck of the information that they could if they searched for their topic of interest first.Lastly, the @ mentions feature is a fantastic resource to call your colleagues or other members already in a conversation.