Question: On 11th March after viewing several properties with an agent we paid 3000 euros to a developer of villas in Catral with an estimated completion date in December. We returned to Spain on the following Wednesday to open a Spanish bank account, arrange our NIE number and choose the kitchen and bathroom fittings with the agent and builder. Unfortunately when we returned home on 18th March we had some bad news about a close member of our family which meant we were going to be unable to proceed with the purchase of our villa. We contacted the agent on Monday morning and were informed that we would lose our deposit of 3000 euros although as yet the builder has not been involved in any substantial costs. Is he within his rights or should we get legal aid to help us regain our deposit?
We'd be grateful for your advise.
Answer: I am afraid that the answer to this is a typical lawyers answer - it depends.
In Spain a €3000 deposit normally means that the deposit is a reservation deposit which basically takes the property off the market fro a certain period of time (normally a couple of weeks) until you have decided to buy the property. After that time you will be expected to sign a full purchase contract which commits you to buying the property. If you signed a Reservation Contract when you paid over the €3,000 then whether you are entitled to your money back or not will depend on what that contract says. Sometimes if you pull out you are entitled to all of your money back and other times you are entitled to nothing back. In some circumstances the Reservation Contract will say that you only get part of your deposit back.
If the €3,000 was for a full purchase contract again it depends on what the contract says.
If you did not sign a contract then you are in a more difficult position as you will struggle to prove why you paid that money and what was intended to happen to it should you not proceed.
I would suggest that you speak to your lawyer about your exact situation and get them to review any contracts that you may have signed.
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