I recently made signed a contract to purchase a home. After closing the sale, I went home and reviewed the closing papers. The bank had enclosed a copy of the appraisal which indicated the house had 2580 sf. The listing agreement from the realtor had shown the house to have 3010 sf and my offer was based on this number of square feet. The realtor had obtained the number from the county appraisal district who apparantly had the wrong information. I immediately called my attorney who contacted the closing company and stopped the deal. (The seller was located in another city and the closing company had not yet received original signatures from him.) The closing company returned my closing funds with the exception of the $1000 earnest money. Now it seems that the seller will not release the money back to me and feels it should be his. I have already been out an inspection fee, appraisal fee, survey fee, pest inspection fee, etc. that I will be unable to recoup. I don't know who is liable for this error, but I do know that the property was misrepresented to me and I feel I should get my earnest money back.