At this point, I think you need to talk to the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (Real Estate Commission).

In addition, your attorney should be able to help you.

The link to the site for the Real Estate Commission is below.

Best of luck.

Thank you for your answers. We used the same realty for listing our home and looking at the one we were to purchase. The realtor who helped whom we signed with as our Buyers Agent hasn't returned any phone calls since the day we signed the contract. His boss is both the owner and broker of the office and is the one who listed our home. We are now getting ready to send a letters to both the seller of the property we were going to purchase, disputing their desire to retain our deposit as well as to our buyer who was in breach of contract in several ways to try to recoup some of our losses. Our buyer didn't begin to try and get financing for almost 30 days even though the contract said she had to do it in 5 AND she never notified us in writing when her financing was denied.
What isn't fair about mediation is, worse case scenario we have to take our buyer, our seller and our realtor to medidation. Even if we win, by the time we pay for each session, was it worth it?
Who do you file complaints with when there is an issue such as this with a realtor / broker?

Wow, that is really a horrible situation!

Brenda is definitely correct. You need to contact your attorney. There are a lot of questions that I would love to ask, but here are the steps to take now.

1. Contact your agent that was representing you on your Purchase. If they will not return your call, Contact their Broker. That information should be listed on the company website or in some of your paperwork. Hoepfully, they were acting as you Buyer's Agent. If they were working for the Seller, they should at least be able to give you a rundown to the steps that you need to take. Do not wait. If necessary, look up the Broker's home phone and call them directly. They need to know what is going on and work to protect your interest now. They should already know the whole story and will be able to give you some advice and outline your next steps.
2. Contact your attorney that was representing you on your purchase. It should theoretically be the same one as who was working for you on the sale of your house. You probably will not reach them tonight, but they should be made aware of the situation. Monday may be the earliest, but it should be fine. They can't do much over the weekend to help you.
3. Take out the contract for your purchase and read it through. Every line. Become very familiar with it.

If you were using the standard Vermont Association of Realtors standard Purchase and Sale, then there is a mediation clause that requires you go through mediation before anyone starts litigation. Pay attention to that part so that you will understand what may be coming up.

I do not how all the players are stacked up on this transaction as far as who the agents were representing and how many different agencies and agents were involved. That will have a bearing as far as what your agent/agency is supposed to be doing to help you.

The one thing I will advise, in the same situation, I would not sign any paperwork without having your attorney read it over.

I cannot offer much more without interfering in your relationship with your real estate agency. Please let me know how you make out. If you need an attorney, let me know. I am sure that agent friends that I have in that area can give me a few names that will be able to serve you well.

I wish you the best of luck.

I am so sorry this happened to you. Not a fun buying experience at all! Truly, the purchase contract is legal and binding once all parties sign it. There is a contingency area in which you can cancel within a timeframe without losing your deposit. If there is a checked box for the loan contingency to stay in effect until funding then the buyer gets their depoist back if the lending falls through. On the purchase contract, there is a liquidated damages section...legally the seller can take the deposit if you have removed all your contingencies. This basically means you have done everything you need and are ready to close. There is a lot more to this and I cannot help in all these aspects, a real estate attorney would be the best to talk to. Good luck and I hope everything is resolved for you.