Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Sale of a Property

Your real estate agent owes you a duty as a fiduciary to look after your interests, not his friends', and to do so with a high degree of skill, diligence and attention.

Although it's possible that the delays have a legitimate explanation, you are not getting the clarity and frequency of reporting of the facts to which you are entitled. If indeed your closing has been postponed from week to week for 4 months, that's about 17 or 18 postponements! I would ask for a detailed written explanation of each postponement, including all the reasons why one additional week was thought sufficient at the time but then turned out to be insufficient. I would make the request in writing, hand delivered to the agent, with a copy hand-delivered to the broker for whom the agent works, who is supposed to supervise him (or her).

(I realize that if you are in Arizona, personal hand delivery may be impractical, so certified mail with return receipt requested may be an alternative - the idea is to get their attention so they understand your impatience and dissatisfaction.)

More likely than not, the buyer does not have the financing to do the deal, and financing is becoming increasingly difficult to find for subprime borrowers - although interest rates for creditworthy borrowers have dropped recently.

Your purchase agreement probably spells out some kind of liquidated damages, often forfeiture of the deposit, for a buyer's failure to close. In addition to any remedy you may have against the buyer for his default, you may also have a claim for damages against your agent and your agent's broker if they have failed to live up to their professional duties and that has caused you financial harm, but such cases can be difficult to prove.