As you’re finalizing your contract, make sure your customers know what can happen if there is a binder dispute.
The best place to hold a binder is with a real estate brokerage. If there is a binder dispute, as described in the NEFAR Purchase and Sale Agreement lines 276-278, “…the broker holding the binder deposit(s) may request the issuance of an Escrow Disbursement Order from the Florida Division of Real Estate.”
That is the most efficient and least confrontational way to resolve a binder dispute. If a binder is not held there, it will have to be held by a settlement services provider – a title company or attorney.
If the binder is held by an attorney or title company and there is a binder dispute, then the only option is interpleader. An interpleader involves lawyers, courts, and judges.
Look at lines 275-276, “…the interpleader’s attorney’s fees and costs shall be deducted and paid from the binder deposit(s)…”
The last three interpleaders we’ve seen had legal costs between $1,000-$1,500. It can go higher. That is taken right out of the binder. This is one of the reasons we recommend a strong binder of at least $3,000. That way, there is actually something worth fighting over, in this case the remaining $1,500-$2,000 after legal fees, at best.
My Agent Greg 