The maximum amount one can bring to closing is indicated on the settlement statement as cash from buyer. This would include the purchase price of the home as well as various closing costs.

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If you stop payment on earnest money, you will likely be in breach (default) of the contract. In the contract the buyer agrees to provide earnest money as partial payment for the home they are interested in buying. Even if payment is stopped on the earnest money check, the buyer is still responsible for paying earnest money to the seller.

You should contact a real estate attorney for legal advice on how to address your concerns. You could also talk to your real estate agent about your concerns. Maybe something can be worked out.

If you find yourself in a potential earnest money problem, the best advice of all is to seek legal counsel as soon as possible. I am not legal counsel.

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If you wish to terminate your exclusive right to buy contract (or for that matter your exclusive right to sell contract) You should first try and talk to your agent and see if they will release you from the contract. Usually they will try to resolve whatever problems you are having and try to keep you in the agreement. If that dosent work, then try contacting the BROKER at the company the agent works at. The broker is the one responsible for all of the broker associates in the office. You could also try faxing or emailing the agent and his or her broker and asking them to release you from the contract. Many agents will not want to hold you hostage and let will you go.

If you still cannot get out of the contract, you may want to try and contact another agent, and see if they can get you released from the first contract. The agent may even offer a referral fee to the first agent to secure the release.

If none of that works, you can try complaining to the REALTOR association that the agent is a member of and see what they can do. You can also complain to the state association of REALTORS and finally, the state real estate commission. Of course you can always contact a real estate attorney for legal advice on how to proceed.

It is important to know that it is not 100% guaranteed that you will be released from the contract. The agent may have valid claims for not wanting to terminate the contract, such as spending lots of time with you, being under contract for a purchase, and spending money marketing your home.

It is also important to know that if you are unable to secure a release from the contract, that you may want to hold off on buying or selling a home until the contract expires. If you were to proceed, it is very possible that you could owe two real estate commissions. One to the first agent, and one to the second agent. This is because there were two agreements…

Finally, if you are successful in getting a release, you should have a written release FAXED to you. A future real estate agent may very well ask you for this, and it is good to have proof in case a commission dispute arises.

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CRITICAL UTILITIES

xcel Energy - Electricity and Natural Gas - 1-800-895-4999 - http://www.xcelenergy.com

Qwest - Telephone - 1-800-244-1111 - http://www.qwest.com

IREA - Electricity in Douglas County - 303-688-3100 - http://www.intermountain-rea.com

Aquila - Natural Gas (not very common, call Xcel first!) - 1-800-303-0752 - http://www.aquila.com

United Power - Brighton Electricity - 303-659-0551 - http://www.unitedpower.com

City of Loveland - electric, water, and trash for High Plains Village - 970-962-2111 - http://www.ci.loveland.co.us

WATER COMPANY

Denver Water - water for Denver city, Stapleton - 303-893-2444 - http://www.denverwater.org - http://www.denvergov.org

Bancroft-Clover Water - water for Belmar in Lakewood - 303-922-1113

City of Lafayette - water for Indian Peaks / Hedgerow - 303-665-5588 - http://www.cityoflafayette.com

TELEVISION

Comcast - cable television - 303-930-2000 or 888-824-4010 - http://www.comcast.com

Dish Network - satellite television - 800-233-DISH - 1.800.233.3474 - http://www.dishnetwork.com

Direct TV - satellite television - 888-238-7177 - http://www.directtv.com

TRASH PICKUP

Allied Waste Services formerly B F I - Trash Pickup - 303-287-8043

Denver Solid Waste Management - Denver City Trash - 720-865-6900 or simply 311 from within Denver city limits.

Waste Management - Trash Pickup - 303-797-1600

MILK, EGGS, BREAD, FARM PRODUCT DELIVERY

Royal Crest Dairy - 303-777-3055 - http://www.royalcrestdairy.com

Longmont Dairy Farm - 303-776-8466 - http://www.longmontdairy.com

NEWSPAPERS

The Denver Post - Newspaper - 303-832-3232 - http://www.denverpost.com

The Rocky Mountain News - Newspaper - 303-892-6397 - http://www.rockymountainnews.com

The Boulder Daily Camera - 303-444-3444 - http://www.dailycamera.com

Douglas County News Press - 303-688-3128 - http://www.dcnewspress.com

MAIL DELIVERY

Pick up an address change kit from the post office and send in two weeks before your move.

POLICE DEPARTMENTS

ALL EMERGENCY CALLS DIAL 911 - 911

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department - 303-795-4711

Arvada Police Department - 720-898-6900

Aurora Police Department - 303-739-6000

Boulder Police Department - 303-441-3333

Broomfield Police Department - 303-438-6400

Colorado State Patrol - 303-239-4501

Denver Police Department - 720-913-2000

Douglas County Sheriff’s Department - 303-660-7500 or 303-660-7505

Englewood Police Department - 303-762-2438

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department - 303-277-0211

Lakewood Police Department - 303-987-7111

Littleton Police Department - 303-794-1551

Rocky Mountain Poison Center - 1-800-222-1222 - 303-739-1123

ADDITIONAL NUMBERS FOR YOU

HEATING AND VENTILATION

Robb A, GDS Gas Detection Services - 303-738-5938 - gdshvacp - AT- qwest.net

INSPECTION

Ronald Meadows - 720-407-0756, 720-434-1818 - http://www.advantageteamhomeandmoldinspection.com

INSURANCE

Gary Dyer - 303-426-6027 - http://www.farmersagent.com/gdyer/

LENDING AND HOME MORTGAGE

Elsa Wohlford - 303-302-3916 - http://www.pmglending.com/ewohlford

John Deckys - 720-329-2608 - http://www.JohnDeckys.Com

PLUMBING

Vasille, Euro One Plumbing & Draining - 720-480-7631

The average closing time is approximately 30 days from contract to closing. Things that can change this would be lending requirements, big inspection issues, and any agreements between buyer and seller.

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Earnest money is a small deposit, usually 1% of the purchase price of the home. Earnest money is posted to show the seller that the buyer intends to perform the terms and promises made in the purchase contract.

The earnest money is applied towards the purchase of the home at closing. For example, if a home were selling for $200,000 - the earnest money would probably be $2,000.

At closing, the $200,000 purchase price is paid by the buyer. Usually, the vast majority of this is financed. For example, if the loan will take care of $192,000, then the buyer would need to bring $8,000 cash to closing. The earnest money would be applied against the $8,000, leaving $6,000 to be paid at closing.

There are many terms built into the contract where the earnest money can be returned to the buyer without any penalties, as long as the buyer provides the required notice to the seller. For example, the inspection period allows for the buyer to leave the contract, and have his earnest money returned, if he finds problems with the property. Of course, the buyer can also try to work with the seller to come to agreement on any problems, and move forward, but if buyer and seller do not come to agreement, the contract terminates and the earnest money is returned. (The form to use for either situation is called the inspection notice)

Another example would be property insurance objection deadline. If the buyer were unable to find property insurance at an affordable rate (it happens sometimes, especially for water issues and past claims) then they would be able to terminate the contract and receive their earnest money back.

There are some instances where the buyer can LOSE their earnest money. For example, if the buyer did not leave the contract under the provisions that allow for the buyer to leave, and did not close, there is a good chance his earnest money could be lost. It is important for the buyer to be aware of the deadlines in the contract, and meet them, or provide the required notice that they are unable to meet them. Usually this notice needs to be in writing, and should contain the wording in the contract.

When earnest money is lost to the seller, usually the listing agreement between the seller and their agent indicates the earnest money is shared evenly between the seller and their agent.

If you find yourself in a potential earnest money problem, the best advice of all is to seek legal counsel as soon as possible. I am not legal counsel.

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A Buyer’s Agent works on behalf of the buyer to reach the best terms possible for the Buyer in a real estate transaction. This may be a lower price, seller paid closing costs, inclusions etc.

Here is an example of where a buyer’s agent could be helpful:

Consider the case of an unrepresented buyer. The buyer sees a house. The buyer calls the real estate agent on the sign in the front yard, and schedules a showing with the agent. The agent is most likely a SELLERS AGENT.

Lets assume that the agent the buyer calls is in fact the seller’s agent.

The agent comes and shows the house to the buyer. The buyer absolutely loves the house and wants to buy it. The buyer would die if they didn’t get the house. The buyer communicates these facts to the agent. The agent is more than happy to complete the offer for the buyer. The house is listed for $200,000. The buyer wants to offer $192,000 and ask for seller to pay $3000.00 closing costs. So the agent writes the contract, tells the buyer they will call back with the seller’s response, and then takes the offer over to the seller.

Now, the agent presents the buyer’s offer of $192,000 and closing costs. The agent also tells the seller that the buyer really wants the house, and would die if they didn’t get the house. The agent then rightly advises the seller to counter very close to list, and probably cut out most of the closing costs as well. The reason this happened is because the agent, who is working on behalf of the seller, KNOWS the buyer really wants the house and is emotionally attached to it.

Now before writing an offer, the agent would have asked the buyer to provide a lender letter. Now many lenders will write the lender letter to specify the MAXIMUM AMOUNT the buyer is qualified to finance.

So now the seller’s agent not only knows how much the buyer wants the property, he knows how much he can pay for it. With this valuable information, the seller’s agent and seller can use these two important pieces of information to the buyer’s disadvantage when preparing the counter offer.

Now, bring in a buyer’s agent.

The buyer calls a buyer’s agent. The agent shows the house, and the buyer absolutely loves it and would die if they didn’t get it. Now the buyer’s agent would probably advise the buyer to offer close to list, so they wouldn’t lose the house. The buyer chooses to offer $192,000 and ask the seller to pay $3,000.00 in closing costs.

The buyer’s agent asks the buyer or buyer’s lender for a lender letter. The lender should be informed to prepare the lender letter to MATCH THE OFFER PRICE.

The buyer’s agent prepares the offer, and sends it to the seller’s agent with the lender letter.

NOW the seller’s agent presents the offer to the seller, but this time they do not know two important pieces of information:

1. The buyer absolutely loves the property.

2. How much the buyer can pay for it.

The reason is because the buyer’s agent acts as a filter, filtering out stuff we really do not want the seller to know.

Sure the seller can still counter, but they do not know buyer’s motivation, or ability to pay more than what was offered.

The same goes for the inspection period, where the seller is usually asked to make repairs to the property.

The buyer’s agent is a professional who can help the buyer negotiate the purchase of their home on a level playing field.

The buyer’s agent can also provide valuable advice to the buyer, look at recently sold homes, help the buyer come up with a reasonable offer price for the property, help them through negotiating price and terms, and help them through negotiating inspection issues.

The buyer’s agent receives a commission for their services, and is usually paid by the seller’s agent at closing, resulting in no out of pocket costs for the buyer.

Some buyers would rather pay their own agent for their services. Their concern is that the agent is working too hard to get a house sold so they earn a commission, that they are not fully representing the buyer. This is easily accomplished in the buyer agency agreement.

If you have questions about buyer’s agency please call me at 1-800-504-8669 or email me.

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This is a tricky question…. You should contact legal counsel for the right answer. There are too many unknowns for me to answer this question.

How does the buyer know if the seller signed it? It is certainly possible for the seller to not sign it, especially if a better offer has come in. The counter may have expired.

If the buyer does in fact know that the seller signed the contract, then there is a serious miscommunication between the buyer and seller, via their agents. Which agent dropped the ball? I would suggest contacting your agent first, followed the employing broker of your agents company (there is one agent in charge of the whole office). They should be able to help you. If you do not get results there, Then contact the REALTOR association for your county or the Colorado Association of Realtors. Finally, make a complaint to the Colorado Real Estate Commission.

You could also try contacting the sellers agent and then the seller’s agent employing broker. Just remember, that as a buyer, if you contact the sellers agent, they are working for the seller, and anything you tell them or anything they learn about you could be used against you in future negotiations.

If you are dealing with the seller directly, you could always withhold or stop payment on the earnest money, but realize you could be in default on a the contract, if it exists…..

This would then possibly end up at a mediator or at the court house.

But with so many variables, the first person to call is an attorney.

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Yes, absolutely. The buyer’s agent can accept payment directly from their client instead of collecting the co-op fee from the listing agency.

In the Colorado exclusive right to buy contract, Section 8.b.1 directly addresses this question.

(1) Buyer Will Pay. Buyer shall be obligated to pay the Brokerage Firm’s fee as described above in subsection 8a.

The buyer may then pay the buyer agency fee as part of his payment for his house. The title company will then make appropriate payment to the buyer’s agent per the agreement.

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In this situation, there is no tax to be paid.

The reason is simply because there is NO GAIN….. Capital gains tax is only paid if there is a capital gain.

If you pay $220k for a property, and sell it for $220k, the net to seller is ZERO. The amount / source of money paid down is irrelevant in determining capital gains tax liability.

While there is no exemption of capital gains tax for a property that is not your primary residence (the $250k / $500k exemptions), in this example, since there was no gain, there was no tax, and therefore no need for any exemption.

Here is an example where capital gains tax would be owed: You buy a property for $220k, and sell it for $240k… The net to seller is $20k, therefore there is a capital gains tax liability, ONLY ON THE GAIN, in this example $20k. If the property was your personal residence, the tax liability is exempted, and if the property is not a personal residence, the tax would need to be paid.

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