Pulling out of a sale

[dino]

Hi,
My parents have had their offer accepted on a secondhand house that they intend to retire to. They paid a deposit to the auctioneer but there is a delay over the deeds. Nothing has been signed yet. They are now having second thoughts because of the amount of work required to the house. If they pull out of the sale now, will they loose their deposit?
Will they incur any other costs?

 

[Smi1er]

If they bought it at auction then a legal contract has been formed. If they don't proceed then it can be auctioned again, and your parent sued for any losses.

If they bought you an agent in the normal manner, then as long as contracts haven't been exchanged they can pull out and they will get all their deposit back.