I want to sell a property that has two tenants, one commercial and one resi.
I an ideal world I would like the tenants to be able to remain. However the purchaser wants them gone and wants vacant possession. That places me in a precarious position, not only losing revenue but also tenant less if it all goes Pete Tong.
Is it possible / legal to have say a 50k non refundable deposit paid to me in the event it goes west?
I would of course prefer them to do their own dirty deed.
Regards................MD
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who do you want to pay the deposit to you?
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If you and he sign a suitable contract, yes.
A deposit is normally paid when contracts are exchanged anyway. I have always taken it to be non-refundable but if not then presumably it can be made so.
You could ask him to sign an "on or before" [date] contract to buy with vacant possession. The necessary corollary I guess would be that you would release him from the contract at his option and return his deposit + something if you failed to perform.
Sounds a bit messy.
I bought a house using an on or before contract in 2000, in order to secure it and in an attempt to avoid bridging costs. In February I contracted to complete on or before the same date in August. It stopped the vendor continuing to market it, and gave me time to sell my house. In the end I failed to sell it in time so I went ahead and bought the house on a mortgage, which I paid down a few months later when I sold my previous house.
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You can indeed have a deposit but I fear most buyers would baulk at a £50,000 non refundable deposit. It's a buyers market.
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Property law is a specialised area. However in general commercial contracts you need to avoid anything that is a penalty i.e an amount for damages over the potential loss. These are unenforceable if they are excessive.
Your solicitor will advise what is possible and I may be talking out of my hat as regards how damages operate with property transactions.
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deposit for a property - Zero
