Interesting Theory...What do you think?

[dscurlock]

I have always wondered this, so i will ask..

Lets say I (the seller) sell my house for $500,000

lets stay the agent skips town with that $500,000
he spends it, its gone, whatever...

legally who gets the house, does the house
go back to me (the seller) I was not paid...

or does the house goto the buyer? (buyer paid agent,
but seller never got paid)

is the buyer out of $500,000 and a house,
or would I be out of a house?

any ideas on this?

[BKOnce]

That's not a theory (not proved)... it's an assumption instead.. which was also never happened... sorry...

[Minnymouth]

Would depend on whether deed had been transfered or not.....

Now if buyer gave Realtor money, and Realtor skipped with it, then the house was never paid for so still belongs to the seller and the buyer has to sue the Realtor to get their money back....

If the deeds had been transferred and re-issued to the buyer, then the seller would have to sue the Realtor for not completing the transaction and giving him his money.

[kiddles]

It's not a theory or an assumption - it's a question.

[AMISLANDER]

I don't know if I'm stupid but when you sell the house, you have a closing & either the bank gets paid off on the mtg. or if that's not necessary, you, as the buyer, get a check....your lawyers handle all the bs such as doc. stamps, deeds, legitimacy of the deed, etc....

...or at least that's how it went for me.

[B12]

Hmmm, why do you ask? lol

A person who sells real estate for a living is an agent and must "hang" their real estate license with a broker. (Not all agents are Realtors, a trademarked name used for those agents belonging to a National Association).

When you purchase a house, you give an earnest money deposit and the broker has only a couple of days to deposit that money into an escrow account. No one in their right mind (I hope) would ever give the Broker the entire price of the house upfront. If the agent decides to take the earnest money deposit and run, he will have an impossible time of cashing a check written out to his broker. It would be more likely that a broker would be able to cash the check and run. Brokers are referred to as "agents" for the transaction, also, so the terms are very confusing.

But, lets say someone cashes it for him. Title only changes hands when a "closing" takes place with either a lawyer or a title company. By this time, everyone already knows the agent is in Tahiti. The lawyer will not have a closing, title will not be transferred and no one gets paid including the buyer's agent. Agents can only be paid by their broker, not by a buyer directly.

The property remains with the seller.

So, nothing in your scenario would ever really take place. BTW, there is a Real Estate Recovery fund that is available for consumers in cases of this nature.

This is a very simplified answer to your question as there are many other things that come into play, but hopefully it helps.
Consult an attorney or broker for real estate advice.

[dscurlock]

That's not a theory (not proved)... it's an assumption instead.. which was also never happened... sorry...

Your the one assuming, people have always stolen others peoples money and other assets from the start of time, and it will happen when you are far dead and until the end of time.

[robivi3]

I think an Attorney would say "huh" followed by the phone slamming, followed by yelling about letting certain calls go through...

[Bandit]

I have always wondered this, so i will ask..

Lets say I (the seller) sell my house for $500,000

lets stay the agent skips town with that $500,000
he spends it, its gone, whatever...

legally who gets the house, does the house
go back to me (the seller) I was not paid...

or does the house goto the buyer? (buyer paid agent,
but seller never got paid)

is the buyer out of $500,000 and a house,
or would I be out of a house?

any ideas on this?

The only way that I can see this really working is if the whole deal went through via cash and the house was completely paid off before trying to sell and there is no bank involved. Then it is my guess that the legal part of all that would be like nothing ever happened and the seller would keep his house and the buyer is out 500,000 while the agent will be basking in the sun on an Island with coctails in both hands.

Of course it would end up in court and what would really happen after that kind of deal, I have no idea.