My first thought is ... take the money and run! However, the litigious
side of me raises it's ugly head and asks, "did you put in writing, and did
he sign, an agreement, that is a 'contract', that says he forfeits his
deposit if he doesn't come up with the balance due in the allotted time?"
If the answer is yes, and your state, province, etc, laws allow such a
contract, he's toast! Of course, what you really should do it spend the
$400 on a real good lawyer to determine if you have a case ... :)
===========================
I took a deposit of $400 4 weeks ago from a buyer. He told me he would
be back with the balance of $3000 in 2 weeks. In writing, I gave him 3
weeks to come back. 5 days before the 3 weeks was up he called to ask
if he could come test drive it and he was going to bring another $2500
leaving a $500 balance due; oh, he asked if he could have the title at
that time also. (luckily, I declined to give it to him). That night he
called an hour after he was supposed to be there and said he couldn't
come for 2 more days. No problem, see ya in 2 days. 2 days later, 1
1/2 hours after he was supposed to be at my house he called with "bad
new". Yeah, you guessed it, he "couldn't" buy my car. It wasn't in his
budget. I was a bit upset but didn't let him know. I told him I would
call him back when I figured out what I was going to do. At the end of
the conversation he said "If you have a hard time selling it, I will
buy it" ??????
While I waited 3 weeks for him to pay the balance of my price, I
turned away 3 potential buyers and removed it from the local auto
advertiser.
What's the general consensus on how I should handle this situation?
I've got my own idea but don't want to influence your opinions.
Thanks,
Jeff
|