HawthorneVillager.com

Further to that, usually your deposit from the purchaser 5-10K is held in trust at an account owned by the selling realestate agents brokerage. When the deal goes through, they usually keep their commision and pay the rest to the lawyer who then pays disburesments to the purchasing agent (including GST) and any other bills such as admin fees etc...

If the deal falls through, the failed purchaser needs to make a formal request to get the money back or you as the seller needs to make a formal request to keep the money if they were in breach (example they sign off on condition of finance and then cannot close due to lack of $$$)

Good luck with your purchase.

Matt

great answers guys!

Here's one for you...I sold a house a few months ago. It was one of my listings and after a little while I found the buyer for the home. So, I double ended the sale. I spent over 2 months looking for the right home for my buyers and when my sellers finally reduced their price to market value (I tried to convince them that their asking price was way too high but, what do I know anyways... ), my buyers jumped on it.
So, closing day is today and I get a call from the sellers lawyer yesterday at 4:30 in a panic. It turns out the homeowners had a 1st, 2nd and 3rd mortgage on the property and had virtually no equity in the home.
The lawyer said to me if both you and I don't reduce our fees, the deal won't close. I asked him by "reduce", how much do you mean and he said all of your commission!
So, in the end, I worked at selling the home for 3 months, spent about $3000 advertising it, found the buyers myself and then got a big fat zero out of it. Actually the only thing I'll get is part of the deposit money which doesn't really cover a lot.

Gotta love this biz sometimes!

Cliff

_________________
Cliff Barron
Selling in Milton for over 14 years!
Sutton Group - Summit Realty Inc. Brokerage
#1, 07-18 company wide!

cbarron@sutton.com
http://www.callcliff.ca
905-286-5888

Cliff, sounds like a scam! The purchasers lawyer should have caught that weeks before while doing title searches on the property.

I refinanced 2 years before I sold my old townhouse but the mortgage company or my lawyer I hired through them did not discharge my previous mortgage. It took 2 days but it was all cleared up. Point being my purchasers lawyer called mine to ask what was up with the 2 mortgages since he was working in the best interest of his client. This could have been a major speed bump!!

I hope he took 0 fees too!

Matt

Matt,
ya he didn't get paid either. The worst part is I referred the sellers to the lawyer as I work with him all the time.
Now both of us have to start chasing for money.

I guess there's a first for everything.

Cliff

_________________
Cliff Barron
Selling in Milton for over 14 years!
Sutton Group - Summit Realty Inc. Brokerage
#1, 07-18 company wide!

cbarron@sutton.com
http://www.callcliff.ca
905-286-5888

Cliff, you are a better man than me! I would have tanked the deal!!

Matt

Hey Cliff and Matt,

That situation happened to me also - not fun. However, it did teach me a valuable lesson, and I've learned how to reduce the risk for myself and my clients. I generally purchase the registry package on my listings - this has prevented problems like Matt mentioned, and also helps me understand my client's financial position as it relates to the property. The registry package outlines all outstanding charges/liens on a property, including the amount owed, and to whom it is owed. Matt, this would have allowed you to learn about the undischarged mortgage a lot earlier, and Cliff, this might have allowed you to know the hit was coming, although I don't think it would have helped avoid the situation (at least you'd have known you were working for free!)

Hope this is helpful,

Cheers,
Hunter

_________________
Hunter Obee
Sales Representative
Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty
Diamond Award Winner - Top 3% in Canada
http://www.TheHomeHunter.ca
905-878-8101