Do I have a legal case if the seller wants to cancel escrow because they do not want to pay the closing cost?

Question

The purchase agreement states that the seller pay 10,000 dollars for the closing cost, now the seller does not want to honor this condition because they do not want to lose more money. We have just entered escrow and I have given them a 5,000 dollar deposit. The seller refuses to sign the final escrow instructions which include this condition. They have threatened to cancel escrow. Is this a breach of contract and can I seek legal action.

Answer 1

You should probably seek legal council. We have no way of knowing if the condition you speak of was an addendum or part of the original agreement.  

Answer 2

There are only about 4 states in the USA that are "escrow" states...everyone else uses trust accounts, and it's a very simple process.

However, it is a breach of contract b/c they already agreed to pay the $10K and now they are trying to back out.

Simple as that.

Answer 3

Why the h**l are the closing costs 10k?   You need to talk to your broker, because something is wrong, not only is that amount exceedingly high but it is uncommon for the seller to ever pay them, they are buyers expenses which the seller sometimes pays half of.   10k is several thousand higher then is normal.   I suspect the problem is the amount and how it was arrived at, it has to include some weird charge.

Answer 4

If they already signed the sales contract which specified the $10k seller-paid closing costs, then yes you can sue them for breach of contract. Good luck.