A legal question about real estate?

So what you're saying is that the real estate agent didn't prepare a promissory note and mortgage encumbering the 5 units the Sellers were going to sell you but, instead, simply wrote an addendum to your Purchase and Sale Agreement that you would be credited an additional $5,000, with or without interest, at the closing of the sale of the 5 units? And you didn't consult your own attorney for advice? It sounds to me like the real estate agent may be practicing law without being licensed to do so. More likely than not, however, he or she may be the con or part of a con that just cost you $5,000. You need to speak to an attorney and/or a private investigator. If the real estate agent made certain representations to you which you reasonably relied upon and later turned out to be false or misleading, then you might have a cause of action. Of course it will probably cost you more than $5,000 in legal fees and court costs to pursue the matter. In addition, the Seller or Sellers who received your $5,000 without delivering you what you were promised have been unjustly enriched and are probably in breach of their contract too. But that will also cost you money to litigate. A private investigator might be able to call the realtor and express an interest in buying those 5 units. If the realtor suggests to him that the owners of the units need to borrow $5,000 from him to pay their bills relating to their divorce and that he will be credited that amount at his closing. Then I think you have uncovered a scam that constitutes grand larceny. It may involve just the realtor or just one of the purported Sellers or all of them. You will have to figure that out with help from a P.I. The police will not get involved without more proof that a crime has occurred as opposed to a simple breach of contract. Speak to your own attorney first if you have one. If not you should consult a an attorney and/or a private investigator. Listen carefully to your options and how much pursuing each course of action will cost you over and above the $5000 that you have already lost $5,000. If it costs you $15,000 to get $5,000 back, then you are simply compounding your losses. If on the other hand there is some equity in the 5 units and you can obtain a Court order restraining the Sellers from selling those units without repaying you the $5,000 and your legal fees and costs, then you probably would want to retain a litigator and file an appropriate civil lawsuit. You need to consult an experienced and competent attorney and figure all of this out. Nobody here on this forum can do anything more than urge you to seek good legal advice immediately.

If you have all paperwork concerning this transaction, the purchase contract, any and all disclosures, notes, phone messages, calls, names and dates, all parties involved in the transaction, court papers, judgment made then you can file a case in small claims court. If the amount is more than the small claims court will allow, you will have to file in civil court. Are you sure the $5,000 loan was not the Earnest Money Deposit? This is a commercial deal so only having $5,000 as your down payment seems to little to me. This also seems like a scam and that is why the case was thrown out. You need to go back and read the contract too! The first thing you need to do though is this: Send a Certified Letter to your agent, his broker, listing agent, listing agent broker, local Board of Realtors and to the court itself. This is a contract law case and if you may not be able to get the $5,000 back if there was a clause for liquidated damages. The liquidated damages clause can be part of the original contract where you would lose the down payment plus any other monies after that.