For the $3000, you might consider suing in Small Claims Court if your lawyer isn’t willing to pursue the matter check out what the jurisdictional limit for Small Claims Court is in your area.
In my Humble opinion, if you have a contract signed by both parties, and he has a contract with and a written changes, a this is a black letter Law case in your favor.
To protect yourself even further, if you continue to use candidate forums, at a paragraph which states the only modification to the contract is a written modification signed by both parties(or all parties)
Posted by walter sauls on February 06, 2005 at 16:58:52:
I used two Purchase/Sales Agreement forms printed from the CD supplied with the A.R.E.F. course previously purchased. After mutual signing, seller was given a copy for his records; Both his copy and mine were identical. A few weeks later seller shows a copy of the contract to his attorney. The “new” copy had handwritten (by the seller) statements which were 100% in favor of seller, including the statement that this was a “backup contract” and if it did not go through seller could keep our $3,000 earnest money. There is not a single place near the seller’s added statements where there exist a signature or initials by the buyers (us) which should prove to any intelligent humane being that the buyers never saw or agreed to these added statements. Seller argues that his is the “original contract” and that I said I didn’t need a copy.
Seller sold property to someone else using his “new forged contract” to get a higher price. Seller refuses to return my $3,000 earnest money, claiming I knew my contract was only a “backup.” Local r.e. attorney says I can’t win because it will only be "his word against mine.