Posted by Ana on February 18, 2004 at 20:32:11:
Dear Mr. Bronchick
My husband and I recently tried to purchase a duplex property in Palm Coast, FL However, we live here in California. We relied upon our RE Agent to disclose the condition of the property. After reading the Home Inspection Report, it revealed that the property had some serious problem, such as: water intrusion, rotting damage, mold growth to name a few… Our agents never once disclose this information to us. Based on the home inspection report, we back out of this deal.
The seller refused to give us back our earnest money deposit. We put in $2,000 earnest money deposit.
We hired an Attorney in FL, our Attorney sent a demand letter to the seller to return our deposit back, the demand letter had stated with 2 Major Key Arguments:
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The property appears to have been “Builder/Architural Design Defect” which cannot be easily remedied.
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The Sellers’ Disclosure Statement denied any of the problems noted in the home inspection report, which is obviously a misrepresentation by the seller as it clearly notes that this has been a “Longstanding Problem”, if we were to inquire with the Tenants.
The seller still refuses to give us our earnest money back, even after receiving the letter from our attorney. I understand that the escrow company will bring this action into “Interpleader” if both parties cannot settle this dispute.
Do we have a strong enough case for it to be worthwhile for us to take it to court? Do you have any recommendations? Any advice with this matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ana