It’s easier than hiring a company to take all of your money

@Josh Kliethermes most likely you either can try to retain the earnest money (emd) or you might be able to hire an attorney to sue for specific performance.  

Take this money and reinvest elsewhere 

Opportunity cost is the name of the game, in a fiat system where we create money out of thin air; Money now is more valuable than money in 30 years.

So, for a cash sale of $27,500 you might give an earnest money deposit of $1000 making that 5% fee $50. 

He had the money from a house sale.

If a legal resident loses their key, as the landlord, you can let her in. 

If the partner is simply lending money that will be paid back with interest, then having them in an LLC can be a problem.

Generally, here's the rule I follow with stuff like this: If every house on the block has a garage and you remove it from your house, that's an expected facet of the home that is lost and you will objectively lose value when comparing to another house from a "market value" perspective; especially from an appraiser's point of view. 

I work at a hedge fund, which allows me to save a good bit of money.