James Edward Meason

James Meason

Sometimes, clients' transactions do not go the way they had planned. Just after Christmas, Mr. Lopez, a New Jersey client, hired me to protect his interests in a pending real estate purchase. He had signed a contract on an Illinois single family home, site unseen and without the benefit of an attorney, for the purpose of owning the property as an investment. Just a day or two before he was about to lose the contract to another bidder because he had not paid the contractually-required $1,000 earnest money deposit (and the day before he was leaving for a New Year's Eve vacation in the Bahamas), he called me to assist him on the recommendation of a local realtor. Due to the impending loss of the property and his imminent vacation, I immediately reviewed the contract and provided Mr. Lopez with a summary of his rights and obligations under Illinois law, and suggested I prepare an amendment to the contract (extending the dates for him to schedule a home inspection and to void the contract, if necessary due to an unsatisfactory inspection). I then prepared the contract amendment, wrote a check on my account to cover the earnest money deposit, drove it to the listing agent's office, and paid it on Mr. Lopez' behalf. Later, when the property inspection report revealed the home's poor condition, I advised Mr. Lopez on how I could void the contract and avoid forfeiting the earnest money (under the terms of the contract amendment I had implemented). After dealing with the listing agent's questions about salvaging the deal through a price reduction or repairs, and communicating with Mr. Lopez about these options, I confirmed Mr. Lopez was not interested in the property. I then secured a full earnest money deposit refund and picked up the check at the listing agent's office. My time and efforts were considerable, and I successfully represented Mr. Lopez in a professional manner. I thank him for that opportunity.