Deposit paid on new apartment, no money to close the purchase.

Rasp

Hi All,

An uncle of mine put down a deposit of €15K (his life savings) 18 months ago for an apartment to make a quick buck. He was advised informally by a "friendly" mortgage broker with inside track knowledge as so he said.
Anyhow my uncle is in his late 50's, was made redundant November 2008 and has not been successful with finding new employment. He is mentally prepared to have lost his savings but the idea of legal action is very stressful for him and his family.

The developers of this site are insisting that he along with others who paid the €15K deposit must close or they will seek payment through the courts with the inevitable threat of registering a judgement mortgage against his family home. He has a wife and 2 grown up kids. I am sure there are scores of people across the country in a similar crisis.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Many thanks in advance.

GerardKeating

Rasp wrote: »

Hi All,

An uncle of mine put down a deposit of €15K (his life savings) 18 months ago for an apartment to make a quick buck. He was advised informally by a "friendly" mortgage broker with inside track knowledge as so he said.
Anyhow my uncle is in his late 50's, was made redundant November 2008 and has not been successful with finding new employment. He is mentally prepared to have lost his savings but the idea of legal action is very stressful for him and his family.

The developers of this site are insisting that he along with others who paid the €15K deposit must close or they will seek payment through the courts with the inevitable threat of registering a judgement mortgage against his family home. He has a wife and 2 grown up kids. I am sure there are scores of people across the country in a similar crisis.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Many thanks in advance.

Yes, consult a solicitor immediately.

BOOKWORM.1

In 2005 we had a similar problem but were lucky enough to get our deposit back. Times have changed since then and no doubt terms and conditions on contracts have also; so you really need to advise your Uncle to seek legal advice.

On another note we were also advised by a mortgage broker who we subsequently found out was a friend of the builder.

homer911

Is the property completed? Its not clear from your post. There may be a clause in the original contract you can rely on

Rasp

Sorry for confusion. The apartment is built.

dlambirl

Has your uncle signed the contract for the property?

Did he give the deposit to the estate agent or to the solicitor??

Rasp

Deposit lodged with solicitor acting for the builder directly.

homer911

Your Uncle needs to get legal advice from his own solicitor as a priority. I would imagine that the worst case scenario is that he loses the €15k and any difference between the agreed price and what the builder may get selling it to someone else.

I am sure he is not alone in the current environment. Keep an eye on the newspapers for similar stories from the commercial court or district court which might give you an angle on how this might pan out...

BuffyBot

This is more a legal issue than query about a Banking/Insurance/Pension service or product.

You need professional legal advice - something this site can't give you