Deals That Fell Apart

The signals that a purchase is failing, when each one was still fixable, and where the earnest money ends up when the contract dies.

Deals That Fell Apart September 5, 2026 Earnest Money Dispute: The Four Ways It Ends Terminating the contract and releasing the deposit are two separate signatures, and the second has a 7-day clock, a 15-day clock, and a courthouse behind it. 10 min read
Deals That Fell Apart August 19, 2026 Real Estate Deal Falling Through: Five Early Signals A second call to your employer, a new line in Schedule B-I, a binder that never arrives: five late signals, and the window each one had left open. 10 min read

About this section

A mechanic's lien recorded in 2009 surfaced on the title commitment six days before closing, and that purchase ended there. The second one, two years later, went through — but only because Ellis Tran had by then learned to open Schedule B on the day it arrives instead of the day before signing. He is neither an agent nor a loan officer, recommends no lender and no loan product, and is paid nothing by anyone involved in a transaction. Each page names the rule it leans on — a CFPB regulation section, an ALTA form number, a state's own disclosure form — and links the original, so the wording can be checked against whatever your own file actually says.

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Every guide cites the agency, statute, or document it was checked against, and carries the date it was checked. Rules change — if something here is out of date, tell us and it gets corrected.