Attorneys, home owners, real state brokers, etc..., please help********?

Please help: I signed a Residential Income Property Purchase Agreement (RIPA) for a property that I was very interested. Unfortunately, my offer did not go forward because of personal issues. I gave a deposit (less than 3 % of property). I would like to know if I can get the full amount of the deposit or something. I went to see the house with a real state broker & she prepared the paperwork, worked w/her broker, etc.

Also, I put my initials on one of the paragraphs where it says that "release of funds will require mutual, signed release instructions from both buyer & seller, judicial decision, or arbitration award." Can I give up my right for a small claim?? Can I file one?

One more thing: Do I need present on offer & give a deposit in order to see a property?


*** PLEASE HELP ******

When you say that "my offer did not go forward" does that mean that the seller countered or the seller did not accept your offer? Either case, you're supposed to get your money back because there is no longer a contract. If your offer was accepted and the acceptance was conveyed back to you, then you have a contract in which you have to follow through with or risk losing your deposit and/or getting sued. If that is the case, then see if you have any contingencies you can use in your contract to back away from this deal without losing your deposit.

The initials means that you and the seller first have to agree to the release of the funds. If you cannot agree, then you must go through arbitration or judicial decision.

And no, you don't have to give a deposit or present an offer to see property. Hell, you don't even need to give a deposit to make an offer on a property. Everything in real estate is negotiable!

Regards

Depends upon the language of the agreement you signed. Since no one here has read it, no one here can give you an answer. Take it to a lawyer.

It depends on the agreement of when settlement will occur. You don't mention how long it took you to cancel the offer that you submitted in to the seller. If you did it way before settlement and expenses have incurred then the seller should give the deposit back. In real estate law when a seller excepts an offer and the offer is canceled by the buyer the seller does not have to give back the deposit because the seller lost money instead of having a buyer that would not cancel. If you were turned down by a lender at the last minute than the buyer can definitely get the deposit back.

You don't need to make an offer to see a home. What you do need to do is get pre-approved by a mortgage broker and give that to the Realtor who shows you the homes. Then after you pick a home that you want, only then do you make an offer.

Hum it is things like this I just do not understand why people do not trust the blood sucking realtors and brokers.

And how they made a bubble and it is breaking big time, Even if you can not get your 3% back you are better off since the market will be dropping throw the floor. And hear is why.

http://www.breakingbubble.com/index.htm

You don't need to give a deposit till your offer is accepted and escrow is opened. You should not give a check to your agent, I work as an agent in commercial real estate, I don't want your check, deposit it your self directly into the escrow once an accpeted offer is reached.

You can get your deposit back if you have a contingancy you can exersice. I routinly give my buyers one- two weeks for "physical inspection", which means you have any reason to back out of the deal.

If your contract is "as-is" and contingancies wavied, you've effectivly given the money to the seller unless you finish the deal. The one thing you have in that case is it requires both buyer and seller to sign off.

As a quik referance, the longer you've lead the seller on your going through with the deal, the less likely they will give anything up. If it's been a few days or a week you can try and negotiate; it does take both of you to sign. 1/2 now or all several years later after lawyers fees, negotiate if you have too.

My answer Depends on what state your in. If your offer was not accepted then your money should be returned immediately. If you were "in contract" then the terms of the contract will dictate how tour deposit is treated. Generally ,If you received loan approval but decided that the property just wasn't for you, then you are compensating the seller for taking the property off the market and lost marketing time. The 3% is a way of limiting your total liability to your deposit, and no more. That's called liquidated damages.