Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

Is it Breach of Contract?

We had our place on the market and got an offer in October, which

we accepted contingent upon qualifying for a loan up to a specific

rate. A few days prior to closing we find out that the buyer is

flaking out and is not responding to her broker's calls. Closing date

comes and goes and then we find out that the buyer had put a stop

payment on the earnest money because her broker never

deposited it into their account. Then weve found out that the

buyer did not qualify for a loan at the rate stated in the

contract however she has gone forward with securing a loan at a

higher rate. The contract also states that she has to provide from

the lender a letter stating that she is unable to secure a loan.

Still to this day we don't know for sure if she qualified or not. Our

broker is saying that the buyer is in breach of contract because she

has not done her part in letting us know about her qualification

situation.

Is this a breach of contract? Would we have a case even if the

buyer goes ahead and accepts a loan at a higher rate? And if I

would have a case how long do I have to pursue this?


Asked on 12/09/03, 1:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Harold Holcombe Harold D. Holcombe, P.C.

Re: Is it Breach of Contract?

Based on the facts as presented it appears that the buyer breached, but hard to say without looking at all the details. Typically, the economics of retaining a lawyer and sueing for damages are not there. If you have significant damages that could be proven it might be worth your while. But these cases can take months to get to court and many times your home will be sold and damages mitigated prior to the court date. It seems to me you should at least be entitled to the earnest money, not quite sure why the broker didn't handle that properly. It appears that the buyer might still be working on getting financing so maybe that will happen. Sorry I couldn't help more.

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Answered on 12/09/03, 3:31 pm


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