Earnest money deposit through the mail can be tricky. I was recenlty working with Clients who are from out of state. They came up to look at a few houses and ended up submitting a contract on the one they loved. The Seller requested a very large deposit on the home that was to be submitted within one week of the signed contract. The Buyer agreed, and had to send it up via certified mail.
When the Seller told me that he had sent it and it was confirmed that it had been recieved, I was a little confused when the Buyer's Agent called me to find out where it was. I informed her that it had in fact been sent and received since someone in the office had signed for it. She told me that she would check the office and find out what had happened.
I ended up getting a call from the office manager who informed me that she didn't have the deposit in her office. I told her that I would call her back once I found out who signed for it that week. My Buyer forwarded me the online receipt from the USPS with the name on it. I called her up and ready the name that was on the signature.
"That's me" she said "That's my name"
"Did You sign for it?" I asked
"No" Hmmmmmmmmmmmm
We were certainly in a conundrum. I now had to inform my Buyer that the office "lost" the check. They had probably thrown it out since they couldn't find it after search the entire office. My first thought after having to inform my Buyer was how I looked in this scenario. Could this reflect poorly on me? I know I didn't have anything to do with the handling of this deposit, but could I somehow be blamed for this misshap?
The Buyer was not pleased to say the least. But he had the bank cancel the check and ended up brining another check in person when he had the inspection the following week.
I have to say how surprised I was by this misshap, considering the Agent is very reputable in the community. For this to have happened, I was shocked. The Brokerage also has a history in the community but like everything else, mistakes happen.
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