What’s the best way to get back my uncashed deposit check from a bad real estate broker?
I submitted a lower offer on a REO house directly to the listing agent making her a dual agent. Also gave her a deposit check($10,000) made to her agency which she owns so that she can use her company check to write to escrow if deal goes through. But the bank rejected my offer. So I told the broker that I want to back out over the phone & I asked her if I can have my check back. She told me that she doesn’t have time to meet me but she does have other available properties which I don’t have any interest on. From then on, she’s been avoiding me & refuse to give me back my check. I cancelled the check but according to the bank(B of A), the check will be able to be cashed in 6 months so I need to re-cancel it . I contacted the department of real estate and they told me that I can file a complaint. This process can take months. Should I just ignore the attemp to get it back & keep re-cancelling every 6 months? All I want is to get my deposit check back. What should I do?
She’s a California real estate broker by the way.
March 29th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Mar Vista Homes
ASK…
April 1st, 2009 at 9:41 am
walk in bath tubs
Send her a letter via Certified Mail (return recipt requested) and make sure you send a copy of it to the real estate board. (mark the bottom of the letter CC: so she KNOWS it went to the real estate board)
Request the money back, tell her you’ll need to recover costs if she does not comply.
Why can the check be cashed again in six months? I thought checks were generally only good for 90 days from the date they were written?
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Boston homes for sale
Just stop payment on the check. End of problem.
April 6th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Brigantine Real Estate
Demand the check with a certified letter and send a copy to the California Department of Real Estate.
Please document your request to the department this is a major trust account violation in the State of California.
Best to you.
April 8th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
cosmetic dentist San Francisco
California has strict guidelines on how we brokers must handle your deposits. I am so surprised she didn’t immediately return this check to you as it means we have to keep books on this check and make sure it doesn’t commingle with our own funds. In fact, she needs to deposit this check in a non-interest bearing trust account and the fact that she hasn’t returned it to you or deposited it within 3 days means she is breaking the law.
I also think it’s stupid how Bank of America requires us to make stop payment every 6 months (I went through the same thing as you with the stop payment thing).
You call her and you tell her that you’re going to pick up the check on Monday at 2 PM at her office or you’re going to walk into your lawyer’s office at 3PM and go after her E&O (errors and omissions) insurance her real estate license. That should get her attention.
By the way, be careful with buying bank owned property. If they are listed with an agent, they’re usually not good deals. Always use an honest buyer’s agent when dealing with buying a home. I specialize in foreclosures and undervalued properties and I see a lot of people make unwise decisions because they were thinking that they got a good deal.
Regards