Skip to content

Posted over 10 years ago

Missing earnest money

I have a property under contract and got the accepted contract back on December 6th. On December 7th, I sent in my earnest money. Yesterday, December 18th, I got a call that since I haven't yet submitted my earnest money, the contract might be cancelled.

The asset manager for the property has been getting offers from investors on properties sight-unseen then not following through on delivering earnest money, and so that has given him a very low tolerance for investors. This is an example of some investors giving others a bad name.

Wait just a second! I have a receipt for the earnest money cashier's check and I sent a scanned copy of the actual check via email the day I sent it. But somehow, the actual check went missing and I was told that the listing agent didn't have it.

Yesterday night I went to the bank and they ran a trace on the cashier's check and saw that it was cashed. That's why they don't have it, it had already been deposited.

Today I received an email apologizing for the mix-up -- the listing agent did get the earnest money but supposedly a copy of it didn't wind up in the right hands.

Crisis averted!


Comments (3)

  1. Yes, I saw a property I felt was worthwhile so I went for it.


  2. You mentioned that you were going to lay low for a little while and not buy......got the itch and couldn't resist eh? Real estate investors anonymous exist?


  3. Don't you just love how bureaucracy can send you scrambling off-course simply because there is no neurological conduit between the left and right hands? I've had listing agents misplace our earnest money and one that took 6-months to return our cheque after we failed to secure a bank-owned property, but I've not been to the point of the seller threatening to cancel a contract. Good thing you were organised.