Deposit % for house or a site

[ninsaga]

AS far as I can see the normal deposit amount when buying a house is 10%. Over a year ago though I advised an auctioneer on a house I was purchasing that I was paying a little over 5%. I didn't get into the specific reasons with him - but the deposit was accepted none the less & the sale proceeded etc.

I now see though that 10% is still the norm & given the hugh house price increases of late, this 10% is quite an amount to have sitting in the auctioneers bank account earing interest for them (along with everyone elses.... a great business model!).

I have a query though with regard to sites where the purchase is dependant upon receipt of FPP, is 10% the normal expected deposit also. Given the duration of the planning cycle, thats alot of your money sitting in someone elses account for a very long time...with no guarantee of permission being granted.

What are your experiences of same regarding amount of deposit paid on sale agreed for sites?

ninsaga

 

[Swallows]

Ninsaga, (interesting name by the way) I did report here some time back about a situation I knew about, whereby, a couple paid a deposit to an auctioneer for a house they wanted to buy and he was to arrange the mortgage. Nothing happened, and although they kept asking about the mortgage it was months later that they decided to go and look at the house and it was sold. They were then in the process of trying to get their money back. Not sure what happened about it in the end. There's an example of someone sitting on a deposit getting the interest!!