B
enzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may receive commissions from links below. A woman is in standoff with her sisters over their grandmother’s $160,000 home after a realtor demanded earnest money to “get the deal going.” She posted her dilemma on r/RealEstate, describing a conflict between her lender’s advice and her sisters’ insistence on keeping the realtor involved.

    Six months after agreeing to sell, the sisters let her keep the property by buying out their one‑third shares for roughly $53,335 each. She had, but the lender later told her she couldn’t purchase what she already partly owned. Instead, the transaction required a cash‑out refinance, not a new purchase mortgage. The lender also required a signed buy‑out agreement among all three siblings and the home to be taken off the market before closing.

    Her sisters disagreed, insisting the realtor must review every document and handle all steps. The lender advised that a realtor is. Feeling caught between and the lender, she asked on Reddit, “Help! What can I do?”

    The lender said process is not a new purchase and does not need a listing or earnest money. They recommended hiring real‑estate attorney or title company to manage the paperwork. The woman expressed frustration that the realtor’s earlier advice was misleading and caused delays. She trusts realtor less and wants property delisted while refinancing continues, arguing the earnest‑money demand is nonsensical when no buyer exists.