In the previous episode, my Seller client has ratified a contract with a Buyer after one counter offer and we were on our way to the inspection phase when the Buyer's Agent called to say that the Buyer wanted to change the financial terms of the Contract. Agreed upon terms -- $316,000 with $15,800 in closing help to the Buyer (modified from the original list of $299,900). New terms: $300,000 with $7,200 in closing 
help to the Buyer.
All of this is verbal, of course. The Buyer's Agent didn't bother to send over any paper at all. Nonetheless, I knew that the Buyer had several ways out of the Contract, if that's what he wanted to do. The inspection, review of the HOA documents, even financing which was supposed to be rock solid.
Anyway, I was on my way to visit the Sellers to see what they wanted to do (I had already discussed this with them in detail and they had wanted to sleep on it.). I get a phone call from the Buyer's Agent. The Buyer's had changed their mind...again! Now, they wanted $300,000 with $10,000 in closing help.
I called back and got the Buyer's Agent's voice mail. The message I left was that, hey, we had a legally binding contract and that all this verbal back and forth didn't mean a thing.
In any case, this story has a happy ending for the Seller. They decided that the Buyer wasn't worth the trouble. So we prepared and Agreement of Release and I faxed it over tonight, changed the status in MRIS back to Active and took the "Under Contract" sign rider down.
I know we'll find a good buyer. The Sellers aren't rolling over for every low ball offer that gets lobbed our way (and there have been three so far). The most recent comps (within the last 3 months) justify the price.
So....onward and upward!
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