Many many posts ago I asked why deposits were paid directly to builders and some of the solicitors at the time justified it. I can't find my post but some of the questions I would have for the legal profession are
1. What is the link between the people who run Homebond and builders.
2. Did solicitors point out to purchasers that their deposit was going directly to the builder and that if the builder went bust they could potentially lose their deposit?
3. Is the Law society looking at not allowing deposits to be paid to builders - I think MOB replied to this for me before
4. If there is a homebond guarantee for a deposit then it should not have a time limit, it's time limit should be equal to the handing over of the completed property or no signing of contract
5. Is the Law society looking at the fact that completion dates in contracts mean absolutely nothing, they are basically non binding on builders but the purchaser can be forced to complete
6. Is the Law society looking at changing the standard contract so that mortgage clauses can not be removed unless the purchaser has a guaranteed mortgage contract from a bank or they have the cash to complete or something like that.
There seems to be a particular problem in relation to off plan property in that the balance of power is with the builder to the detriment of the purchaser, an uneven legal relationship. To me then the legal profession needs to step in and make sure this doesn't happen in the future.
If 20K is such a 'paltry' sum of money you should donate some to the builder to help him out. You have no idea peoples situations now or how they got the deposit money in the first place and to make such a comment is an insult.
Easy there Brendan you are fueling this argument as much as everybody elseOK folks
Calm down.
I have had to warn people about defamation and ban foxylady for 7 days for ignoring the warning.
I know you are all angry and upset, but stick to the facts and don't put my home on the line by making loose comments.
This is a very important topic, but I will have to close the thread if people do not post responsibly.
Brendan
I also mentioned earlier that the lesson that I have learned here is that I will not sign a contract again - in which my deposit is forwarded over to the builder directly.
Perhaps legislation should be enacted - that in all cases when people buy off the plans that their deposits are held in a government type holding account?
Could this be a simple solution to these type of problems occurring in the future?
The builder can apply for loans to the banks for the actual building of a development - monies given to him can be approved by the Government.
I know people don't like to think they have lost a deposit. But you have dodged a bullet here, seriously. You really need to look on the bright side.
You are not as well off as you would have been had you not got caught up in the hysteria of the time.
But you are FAR better off than you would have been had Laragan not hit financial difficulties and been unable to complete.
You may be right but I think people are annoyed with the way they have been treated and also the fact that if they had withdrawn from the contracts sooner that they would have lost their deposits. However, now that the builders are "pulling out" the depositors are left high and dry.
I'm sorry but in the current economic situation, people need to get over being annoyed and get on with it!
They are not left high and dry. They are out of their contracts, its over, they have lost their deposits, it hurts, and now they can move on. There is no cash cow available, anywhere, to repay them their money. No amount of crying/complaining/whinging is going to change that.
mf
Jack this might sound a bit trite, but you cannot protect people from their own bad decisions, nor should you.
It's possible that some solicitors for some of the purchasers on this development did not foresee the issue when contracts were signed (frankly I'm not 100% sure that it would have occurred to me if I had acted).
Kate.
You did not refer to the rest of kate10's post
"And even if the solicitor could be blamed for not anticipating all of this (which I think is a bit of a stretch) I don't think any purchaser would have a case against his/her solicitor. As I said, a purchaser must first prove that they suffered a loss."
What is the actual loss? If they had proceeded and the deal had concluded, they would have lost even more in terms of negative equity.
mf
Kate if you ordered a piece of furniture and paid a deposit but were left to wait and wait passed the promised date of deliver would you say you made a bad decision, sit patiently on the floor waiting for the furniture to arrive then eventually just buy another piece of furniture elsewhere. And never ask/demand your money back?
That is exactly what happened to a lot of people who paid a deposit for furniture to shops which subsequently went to the wall.
Brendan
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