Sold house with financing, buyer refuses to pay

[Sharon Rolel]

Hello!

I have recently sold a house in FL for $86,000. I received $65,000 in cash, and agreed to finance the rest. Since then the buyer has stopped answering my calls/e-mails and I am stuck with a pretty big loss.

The buyer has since resold the property and doesn't own anything else in the US, but does in his own country (Israel, which is where I'm from as well).

What are my options? I was quoted $3000 legal fee for suing in Florida but would have to spend more to get the judgement translated etc. and may need to deal with a courthouse in Israel as well.

Thanks!

[Aaron Mazzrillo]

My first step would be to call the title insurance company and find out why no deed of trust was recorded for the mortgage.

My second step would be to write down exactly what happened so I make sure I don't make the same mistake again. Many people have paid a lot more than that in seminar fees and didn't learn anything. $21K on a house, not so bad. One of my early deals cost me and a partner $20K to flip a mobile home. At least you still have $65K to play with. Live, learn, and move on. It's only money.