Sent termination letter - now what?

I would be patient and just wait for the return of your deposit. If that's all you want, your deposit back, then you should have no issues. They have no reason to hold your deposit.

If you want to sue them for anguish, time lost etc. That's a different story and you'll have to consider whether the legal fees and additional time will be worth it ...

With that said, it sounds like you're back to the drawing board. It didn't sound like you had a good buyer's broker ... did you go in alone?

I recommend checking out Hauseit and getting introduced to a proper, experienced real estate broker who can help you avoid potholes like this next time. They'll also offer you a rebate yada yada .. but it's important not to just get "free" advice ... anyone with a license can offer that :-)

How is this a buyer's broker problem?

Dead people don't sell apartments. So it was known at time of contract (and before, as it would have been marked on the deal sheet) that seller was an estate.

Yet somehow, seller's broker represented (and buyer's attorney swallowed) that closing was going to be two months post-contract? That's insane... that would be fast for a "normal" co-op transaction, especially one that involved financing, and to assume no LT issues, no tax issues etc. with an estate... well, there's plenty of blame to go around on all sides for that one.

In practice, if the attorneys aren't talking, have your broker (who should have warned you that close date was unrealistic) reach out to seller's broker (whose job it should have point to highlight specific material issues) and find out what the other side is thinking, and what's going to fix it. It's marginally possible that you're still in the zone of the fixable, but you're going to try to want to get the best read on that you can before you move forward.

"I am not a lawyer" disclosure here.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Two ways of looking at this: 1) No one gives back money until they are asked, but once asked, they will deliver. In this instance, you better at least get notice it will be returned by the end of this week; 2) They are waiting on something and would love to string you along at no cost to them. In this case, you may have to file suit and ask for the moon to get them to settle for giving you back the deposit. By the lack of response from opposing lawyer, we are probably looking at #2. The suit would prob force the estate to give it back instead of incurring their own legal costs.

Just to clarify, are you saying that neither you, your attorney or your buyer's agent were aware that this was an estate sale at the time you signed the contract?

This sounds like a bit of incompetence on the seller's team (both broker and attorney). Why would you put a unit on the market until the estate was probated? (or at least had a reasonable idea when it would be through). But also, the buyer's attorney should have found out in due diligence what the status was.