On Saturday evening, after 9 PM, after receiving the earnest money along with the sale of the house,
I heard that they were asking to increase the deposit, and that they had originally planned to lower it by only 2-3 million won, but they increased it to 500 million won.
Although the amount wasn't huge, it wasn't a small amount either, so I thought, 'Surely they won't cancel the contract?',
and spent the weekend that way. But then on Monday, I suddenly heard the shocking news that they wanted their deposit back.
Whoa! That's when I understood what it meant to have your blood run cold.
I was dumbfounded, but I managed to compose myself and politely replied,
“Since you've cancelled the contract, I can't return the deposit. If you want to sue, go ahead.”
After that bold response,
a few days later, I actually received a registered letter (content certification).
I knew that the contract cancellation was clear and the request for a deposit refund was one-sided, so
if it were to escalate into a formal dispute, I would be in a favorable position. But,
when I actually received the registered letter,
I felt a little confused. That's right, I was a little scared.
While consulting with some acquaintances, I heard about another acquaintance who frequently handles registered letters and lawsuits.
I could learn from their experience.
Regardless of whether it was between a landlord and tenant or a public institution, they weren't intimidated and conveyed their demands.
Seeing that, I thought, ‘It's just that I'm unfamiliar with it and find it daunting, but it's probably nothing once I actually do it.’
(I've been too kind...)
Right then and there, I drafted a rebuttal and had it reviewed by a lawyer acquaintance the next day. Then, I sent a registered letter to the buyer through an online registered letter service.
If I had initially appealed to their emotions, expressed remorse for their hasty actions, and pleaded with them, I might have been willing to return some of the deposit. However, they brought up conditions that weren't agreed upon during the contract and
demanded the return of the deposit, which further angered me.
In the registered letter, I also pointed out those issues.
[The buyer, in a large real estate transaction involving a significant responsibility,
should have made a decision after careful consideration and deliberation. However,
after the signing of the main contract, they showed no intention of fulfilling it,
and are now claiming the return of the deposit by raising conditions that were not mentioned in the main contract.
This behavior is difficult to accept.]
(A concise and critical remark)
If, from the beginning, we had defined the earnest money as 10% of the purchase price in the real estate contract and
defined the amount sent under the name of earnest money as part of the deposit,
I might have been able to force the buyer to fulfill the contract and
avoided this stress.
Thankfully, another buyer emerged, and I was able to finalize the contract successfully.
The atmosphere is clearly one where urgent sales are being absorbed, and
thanks to that, I was able to receive the deposit securely this time and finalize the contract.
I'm relieved that it all worked out in the end.
Comments0