Deposit On A Plot Of Land

[bob561941]

I advertised a plot of land for sale, after having a substantial number of replies including a lot of time wasters I decided to deal with one person and he agreed to deposit 10% of the purchase price into my bank account. I instructed a solicitor to act on my behalf and signed a contract many months went by no progress on exchange the buyer has now changed phone numbers and cannot be contacted. am I entitled to retain the deposit as I have incurred substantial solicitors charges ?.

[dannyk13]

Ask the solicitor who was acting for you.

[jackthehat]

In the first instance, I'd transfer the balance (after deducting fees) into a separate account......I would say one offering high rates of interest but there don't seem to be many of those around.....and just let it sit.

Your potential purchaser may pop up at some point in the future and want his money back and you'll be able to do this without too much inconvenience if you have kept it separate from your own monies.

However, if you feel that you have made sufficient attempts to contact him, re-list your land for sale.

[AB Editor]

I think bob is looking for a general sense of whether it's worth asking - after all, it is likely the solicitor who is owed money.

[jno]

it will still depend on the terms on which the deposit was made, and the terms of bob's contract with the solicitors.

[bob561941]

F.A.O. Danny 13 I went to my solicitor yesterday and he has written to the potential purchaser's solicitor giving the purchaser 12 weeks to complete or lose all the deposit, When I try to phone him on his mobile I now get invalid number.

[dannyk13]

Bob, just wait the 12 weeks and then treat the deposit as yours.

[furrypusscat]

Your solicitor acting for you should have put in place certain requirements within the contract which I would have thought should have stated specific terms and conditions with regard to the deposit and owed balance. Any decent solicitor would have already done this acting on your behalf.

[bob561941]

The potential buyer's name Omid Javani I won't be dealing with him again.

[Peter Pedant]

You both have solicitors
and you are asking us whether you can keep the deposit ?

well I think yes
I also think if your lawyer has given a deadline then if it is broken the answer is definitely yes