Deposit on House

E

Evander73

Registered User
Messages
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Position – We have signed a contract to purchase a house, with a deposit of €35K paid over. Unfortunately my partner has lost his job just two weeks before the close of contract date i.e. end of July, which makes proceeding with the purchase impossible at the moment - my salary is €35K pa. Due to difficulties with snagging etc the keys to the house have not been handed over to us, and as such the balance of the purchase money has not been transferred. Also due to the protracted difficulties we have had with the builder, our original mortgage has expired so we would not be covered by insurance.

My questions are –

  • Is our deposit unrecoverable – totally/partially
  • Are we at risk of being sued by the builder for breach of contract for the potential loss of profit due to the down turn in house prices since the contract was signed.
  • Are we at risk of being sued by the builder for auctioneer, legal fees etc.
  • As the keys have still not been handed over, if this position was to continue, due to no fault of our, until after the close of contract date, would we be immediately entitled to withdraw from the contract, claiming breach of contract and recover our deposit?
  • Would there be any implication for our credit rating with regard to qualifying for a new mortgage in the future, once our position improves?
 
Brendan/Clubman, I think we should have a sticky/FAQ on this topic. The same questions are comming up again and again.
  • Is our deposit unrecoverable – totally/partially
Yes - Probably. In the good old days the builder might refund you, as he could sell the house to someone else for a higher price.
  • Are we at risk of being sued by the builder for breach of contract for the potential loss of profit due to the down turn in house prices since the contract was signed.
Yes
  • Are we at risk of being sued by the builder for auctioneer, legal fees etc.
They would include this in above, you can be sued for the full value of the contract, so a couple of k does not matter to much. BTW you still have to pay your own legal fees.
  • As the keys have still not been handed over, if this position was to continue, due to no fault of our, until after the close of contract date, would we be immediately entitled to withdraw from the contract, claiming breach of contract and recover our deposit?
Chances are that the builders contact is strongly weighted in his favour and watertight on this.
  • Would there be any implication for our credit rating with regard to qualifying for a new mortgage in the future, once our position improves?
No. Not unless you get sued for the outstanding money... This is unlightly as it costs time/money and builder knows if you have no more money /assets he can't get blood from a stone.

Best to contact you own solicitor and fill them in with the details, they may find a wayout.
 
Feel free to draft a clearly worded and formatted FAQ on this and we can see about adding it to the key posts.
 
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