Transactions That Make You Go Hmmmm?

Transactions That Make You Go Hmmmm?  

I recently closed on one of my listings that seemed like it would just never happen! I have to wonder, did the buyers plan their strategy to hold by seller hostage?

It all started out as normal negotiation for the sale and purchase of my seller's property. We negotiated sale price, inspection periods and closing date. Sounds normal, right? Once we executed our contract the buyers began applying to the homeowner's association and scheduling inspections. At the home inspection the buyers were mentioning the sale of their property in another state. I quickly reminded them that this contract was NOT contingent upon the sale of another property. They said "yes, we know that, but it would be nice to sell our home before we make our move". I was also told that "we don't HAVE TO SELL to purchase". Their agent was there as well and attested to the conversation.

When it was time for the mortgage commitment to be due, I was sent a copy in which one of the conditions was to close on the sale of the buyer's home. At that point we still had 30 days before closing, so I spoke with the buyer's agent and was assured that it would be no problem. Guess what? It was a HUGE problem! As the seller and I found out, they had been under contract for their home for 4 months already, with no closing date in site. Apparently their buyer had not been able to obtain a mortgage and was trying to get another loan. When I realized that we would not be able to close on time, I sent an addendum that the seller and I had discussed. We would give them another 30 days as long as they put down additional deposit. They never signed and we were then out of contract.

My seller was very generous in keeping the house off of the market for 2 weeks while they forced their buyer to get them a commitment. She was even going to go as far as to hold the mortgage for them herself. If they could not do this in 2 weeks, my seller was going to go after the escrow deposit and put the home back on the market. That's what started to happen when we received a call from the buyer's agent saying that now the buyer's purchaser would now be able to pay cash and close. Seems like pretty good timing, doesn't it?

So my question to you is, Did the buyers and their agent plan this so that the seller would accept their offer, but it would still be "contingent" on the sale of their home?