Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

Re: Purchase Default

If you used a standard purchase/sale agreement, it will provide for liquidated damages in the event of buyer default. Typically, liquidated damages are three percent of the purchase price - which is why the seller generally requires that the buyer deposit into escrow, a sum equivalent to the three percent. This way, when buyer defaults, theoretically, both seller and buyer execute a joint instruction to the escrowholder authorizing a cancellation of the escrow and a disbursement of the three percent to the non-defaulting seller.

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Re: Purchase Default

If the home is in Georgia, the contract will be interpreted under Georgia law, which is probably different from the California law described in the previous answer, which is based on California statutes. Hopefully a Georgia lawyer will step in here soon. In the meanwhile, a couple of things you might do are (1) re-read your contract of sale to see whether it provides that disputes must be mediated and/or arbitrated, and (2) confer with your real estate agent who handled the "sell" side of the transaction for you.