Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Wisconsin

We made an offer on a commercial property and were unable to obtain guaranteed financing by the end of our financing contigency. We were able to extend the date with an added Continued Marketing clause, indicating that the sellers could accept a secondary offer thus giving us 72 hours to come up with guaranteed financing to satisfy the contingency. The financing contingency was not satisfied within the 72 hour timeframe and they sold to the secondary offer. Does the earnest money automatically go to the buyers or are we entitled to any of it returned?


Asked on 2/25/10, 8:11 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

The verbiage in your contract (offer to purchase) along with amendments should resolve this issue. Usually, if an offer is contingent upon financing which fails to materialize, earnest money is returned. However, I do not know the details of your contract, which might have set up a different procedure. It is possible that a waiver of all contingencies could also waive the financing contingency, creating a �cash offer.� With cash offers, earnest money is usually lost if the buyer is unable to perform. My comments in this online forum are offered for public educational purposes only and are not legal advice, nor do they create any attorney/client relationship between us. However, I may be able to formally represent you if you contact my Racine office and make arrangements to retain me. I also represent clients throughout WI.

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Answered on 3/04/10, 5:34 am


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