Need advice about EM
Need advice regarding earnest money dispute on a new construction home in Georgia.
I signed a contract for a new build home with a conventional ARM loan and put down a $7,500 earnest money deposit. During the process, the loan was suspended by underwriting due to recent work change. They request extra document several times and new offer later and confirmed the new job. Closings were delayed multiple times, and communication from the lender was very poor.
Later, I found out the loan type had been changed from the original conventional ARM loan to FHA without clearly informing me beforehand. I only noticed because the new loan documents showed mortgage insurance charges. There were also multiple closing cancellations that were never communicated to us properly, causing my mother to miss work and forcing us to reschedule movers multiple times.
Now the lender says they may still have a path using a different fixed conventional loan product, but at this point I no longer want to proceed because the financing process has become unstable and materially different from what we originally agreed to.
The builder is now saying the earnest money may not be refundable since it was deposited directly to them.
Do I have a valid case to dispute the EM refund? I feel like this is switch and bait, they started to ignore my agent and my calls.
Would appreciate any advice from anyone familiar with Georgia real estate or builder EM disputes.