Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Offer on property

We made an offer on house, gave the realtor a $500 deposit, after the house inspection decided not to go through with the purchase of the house, too many problems with the house, we did not respond within the time allowed, therefore we said good-bye to our $500 deposit. The owner of the property is now taking us to Small Claims Court saying he lost a day's pay because he had to go to court over this matter - We never pursued the matter in court? We never received a summons to appear in court. What should we do? Where should we go first? Thank you.


Asked on 2/20/02, 10:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Trant Law Office of Robert R. Trant

Re: Offer on property

If the seller filed an action in Small Claims court, you would be notified by the court as to the date/time of the hearing. The seller would need to file an action in Small Claims court and pay the filing fee. The court would then send notice to you. You would be entiled to file an answer (defense) to the claim. If you knew which court the seller filed in, you could call the clerk's office to verify whether or not a case had been filed and what address the court mailed the notice to. If the seller did not provide your correct address to the court, the notice may have been lost. In this case, you could file a motion with the court to have the case re-scheduled since you did not receive the notice. As for the seller's claim, I would review the signed offer to see if there are any terms relating to damages. Most times the damages are limited to the deposit. Also, the general rule is that each party must pay their own costs for litigation.

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Answered on 2/20/02, 11:00 am


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