recently i bought a condo and i paid deposit to the property agent

but at later stage found out;

1) original owner had passed away
2) husband is the executor of the property
3) the process of ownership transfer will take more than 6 months

so i decided not to buy because i need the property fast and the duration to transfer ownership is uncertain

i was not informed of this when i secure the deal and now the seller is not willing to refund me the deposit

does he has the right to do that?

would like to hear some inputs here especially from lawyer

thanks..

This post has been edited by jasonlim: Jun 17 2010, 11:15 PM

No, he has no right to hold your deposit... its a deposit not a down payment.

but what can i do to make him return my deposit?

I think he's just playing dirty with you, since he hasn't perform his obligation and has not given you a specific answer as to when the ownership transfer may take place, you have the right to withdraw your deposit.

Maybe Section 30. of the Contracts Act 1950 will help.

CA1950 S30. :Agreements, the meaning of which is not certain, or capable of being made certain, are void.

Maybe CA1950 S47. will apply as well: Time for Performance of promise where no application is to be made and no time is specified. However, the "reasonable" time frame is a question of fact.

Just be firm, and get nasty if you have to. Tell them you will spread their dirty tricks to potential customers should they persist.

Otherwise, you may seek the consumer tribune, although it may take a long time to get your money back.

This post has been edited by JackX: Jun 17 2010, 11:47 PM

i cannot say he is playing dirty la..but he sure will protect his own interest la

but must be reasonable la..cannot keep me waiting for dunno how long to transfer ownership

if this process is gonna drag long,might as well return me the deposit and find other buyer who is willing to wait

1st time buy property and i encounter this kind of bad experience

i really learn a great and expensive lesson..

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Added on June 17, 2010, 11:53 pmthanks for pointing out but i dunno all this act la

my lawyer should know better than me..but he seems not doing is job well and not following the case closely

This post has been edited by jasonlim: Jun 17 2010, 11:53 PM

In a subsale deal, EVERYTHING is negotiable. Just be calm, polite and explain to the vendor nicely your current predicament. So if he refuses to return you back the deposit, why not nego an early VP upon signing loan LO?

That way, everybody wins...........

i did try to talk nicely to him..he don't take my words..and claim that he has all document ready for ownership transfer

what is early VP upon signing loan LO?can explain more on this?

VP - vacant possession

the property is currently empty..so early VP should not come into the picture

am i right?

If the property is currently empty, it makes even more sense that the owner can release it early to you, maybe with you paying a nominal small sum as token for rental while he takes his time to do his transfer of title. VP also carries the meaning of handing over the unit, not just making sure it's not being occupied.

Usually when the unit is tenanted, the vendor/seller may take his own sweet time to do the transfer, while he is still collecting rentals during the delays.

If the unit is empty, the vendor/seller should be in a more sense of urgency because the sooner he can complete the transaction, the sooner he can get his money from the disposal of his property.



So, what Pai has suggested is that you may nego nicely with the vendor to release the unit early to you, so that you can start occupying the unit while waiting, then it's a win-win situation where you will get your unit while vendor continue doing the transfer.

Any refund at this stage, both parties will incur friction cost (legal fees, penalty of exit etc), you wont be getting full 10% anyway. Since you bought the place 6 months ago, surely the entry price you wont be able to get at today's market (assuming it's a good buy), then why not just stick to the waiting if still unable to nego for an early release. Unless it's really a terrible mistake walking into buaya mouth when you bought this unit, then you may want to muscle your way out, but i highly doubt so.

It's OK to be eager and excited to get your first unit handover asap, but it's also entirely OK to wait slightly longer for your first unit to deliver safely to your hand, be it 6mths, 9 mths or a year. As long as it's a good buy, you win, just a slightly longer waiting only.

p.s. my first unit took 9 months for a freehold unit, and I am superbly happy and glad that I waited for the whole transaction to pull thru. =) Property investment, patient gets you a long long way. cheers

This post has been edited by noed18: Jun 18 2010, 11:36 AM

sometimes for owner's protection, owner's lawyer would advice the owner not to give VP to the nuyer, because if anything goes wrong, it can be difficult to get the property back....

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Added on June 18, 2010, 11:59 ambased on my experience, it is not easy to nego...especially if your seller is a "professional"...and it still haunts me

This post has been edited by leongal: Jun 18 2010, 12:00 PM

Well said Noed.

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Added on June 18, 2010, 12:04 pmbetter start learning now than never


This post has been edited by Pai: Jun 18 2010, 12:04 PM

he actually offered me to move in while waiting for the ownership transfer

i m looking to move in my new place by this year..even if he allow me to move in early, i still need to do renovation and some touch up..so if after like 6-9 months, then only i found out transfer of ownership still cannot be done..i will lose my money for refurbish the house..somemore there is large amount of legal fee i need to pay upon signing the S&P..who is going to cover all this cost?

i don't know whether i m walking into the buaya mouth or not..i hope i m not

i see alot of uncertainty here..

is the seller who offered me VP

Poor girl, your vendor sendiri a loyar, of course difficult la, but if you can still muscle thru, next time surely you can glide thru many normal transactions.






Thanks for the endorsement

yes, i tried to nego in a nice way..and he accuse me for creating uncertainty in this deal

so it is not easy..coz he want to protect his own interest which is to sell the property and get the money

This post has been edited by jasonlim: Jun 18 2010, 12:13 PM

Then no issues lah, just move in 1st then after everything is settled u can start reno'ing. He seems to be a genuine seller if u ask me.......... and he's taking the risk by allowing u to have an early VP. He only get 10% but now you can alredy stay in his house. You can damage his house while staying there (he has greater risk than u leh? ) but he allows this anyway as he understands your predicament n looking for ways to help you out in a way.

Good luck

confused seller offered you VP...and you nego? nego wat?

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Added on June 18, 2010, 12:27 pmu remember my story well


This post has been edited by leongal: Jun 18 2010, 12:27 PM

i mean nego to get back my deposit

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Added on June 18, 2010, 1:52 pmrenovate after move in will cause more trouble to me

no point i damage my own hse ma rite?but if he is still the owner he can chase me out anytime

This post has been edited by jasonlim: Jun 18 2010, 01:52 PM

oh....of course la, money go inside his pocket jor, sure difficult to come out....anyway, good luck

thanks..i hoping the best for myself