A buyer showed interest in a property my mom owned and backed out after putting in a deposit, about RM20k.

The lawyer released the money to my mom.

A few months later, a relative to the buyer called telling that the buyer had passed away and wanted the deposit $ back.

She threatens to call the cops on my mom.

Is she on the right? According to the contract my mom does have the right to the deposit money should the buyer forfeited/back out from the purchase, not so sure if the buyer died..

Any help is appreciated.

consult your lawyer lah...

Is there any written agreement between the buyer and your mom?
Was the SAP signed?

unless u plan on selling the house to them, u should just return the money. I'm not sure what the legalities are, but their family member just passed away, should show some respect, after all ur not losing anything...



But if the lady is rude and demanding maybe u ought to just keep the money?

Yeah, out of respect. I think you should return the deposit if it is true that he has passed away.

Not exactly. It could also be a fraud. Because in such circumstances, the deposit will be automatically forfeited if the buyer said he doesn't want to proceed with the deal. RM20K is a lot of money. It could also be their trick to get the deposit back by saying the buyer is dead.

alwiser, you should ask your mom to consult with her lawyer and ask the buyer's relative to produce a death certificate. If the relative calls again and threaten to call the cops, TELL THEM TO GO AHEAD. If they really want to retrieve the deposit, please tell them to follow the procedure, hire a lawyer and do it legally.

Ya, hell notes are relatively cheap.
The transfer method is also convenient, you just need to burn them.


If the agreement between a seller and buyer is broken, the law will come into effect.
The money was taken from the buyer, not the buyer's relative.
If the buyer come back alive and ask for the money and he want to proceed the sales after you paid the money, what do you think will happen?

Use common sense and please advise your mum to do the right thing. 20k is a lot of $$$, but its not worth causing further grief to the deceased family just to satisfy own greed.

If they decided to bring this to court........think they have a valid case to withdraw the deposit and in the meantime your mom wont be able to sell the property at all and you need to pay hefty legal fee's. So save yourself the trouble but ensure 3 things :

1. Request for death certificate of the deceased for your reference.

2. DO NOT give the deposit back to the relative, and make sure your lawyer returns it to the rightfull receipient (spouse etc). Use your lawyer and make sure EVERYTHING is legally documented.

3. Legal cost resulting from this withdrawal to be deducted from the deposit.

Good luck

agreed

I believe that the buyer backed out before he passed away, right ?

In that case, I am sure that your mom has the right to keep the deposit as usually the buyer have to sign the S&P within 14 days of putting down the deposit. If he backs out on his own, the usual rule is that the vendor gets to forfeit the deposit .........

Pls check with your lawyer ...