I have a recent deal that is hanging on by a thread. I've written about it several weeks ago in I Now Pronouce You Seller and Husband, and while we thought we had ironed out the 
problems it seems that more have surfaced.
A seller getting cold feet and changing her mind is one thing.
... Refusing to sign a release is another.
Luckily, my buyers are very reasonable people, and we've just found another home for them which we put under agreement this weekend. Still, it would be nice to have their escrow deposit returned from the "Let's Not Make a Deal" seller behind curtain #1.
I believe the seller would have signed the release of escrow, if the broker had not tossed in a letter telling her that they are suing her for their comission because she refuses to sell the house. Granted, they have every right to do so, but it should be done AFTER the release and termination forms are signed. So, now she is refusing to sign anything.
We'll go to court if we have to, but before we get that far we thought we'd try something a little different. My buyers, not hearing any updates from the listing office for weeks, decided (with my and my broker's encouragement) to write the seller a letter directly. And, it worked! They wrote a heartfelt letter about how they understand her circumstances (which I won't go into here) and how they would really like to work with her but at this point they need to move on. They asked her to please sign the escrow release, and included a copy of the document. They also included a self-addressed stamped envelope.
As a last minute thought, they added their cell phone number in the letter just in case she decided she wanted to talk to them. And guess what? She called them the next day. Receiving the letter was appreciated, and she explained to them (just as I suspected) that the listing broker is threatening to sue for commission. She understands now that the buyers have nothing to do with that, as it is between her and her agent and broker. She agreed to sign the release and will mail it to them.
We did let her know, of course, that we would take her to court if necessary -- hey, I'm no pushover -- but it seems that won't be the road we'll be needing to take. Whatever happens now is between her and her broker, who should have done a better job of trying to keep the lines of communication open for all parties.
They shut the door on her, she shut the door on them, and the buyer and I were left standing outside on our own.
Luckily, we found another doorway to enter, and it seems things will work out.
And, we are in escrow for another home - so all is good!
I admit that I have a gripe about how this was handled, and the broker was far more interested in his comission than in getting a release signed and communicating to all parties. Not my problem, as long as my buyers are free to move on.
