Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Can I get my down payment back?

My husband and I were trying to move to a new area in Florida. We have been trying to sell our current home. We found a new construction home in the area we are trying to move to. The homebuilder and their preferred lender encouraged us to sign a sales contract. They advised us that if we were unable to sell our current home that we could rent it out and still qualify for new mortgage. We signed contract and gave them a down payment of 10,000 dollars. During the building process we were contacted by the lender and were advised that due to a change in lending laws we could no longer rent our current home and still qualify for the new mortgage. The only way we could still purchase the new house is if we could sell our current home or if we could come up with an additional 43,000 dollars and purchase as an investment property. At this time neither one of those options seems like a possibility. The homebuilder would like us to sign a cancellation form. We are not sure if we should sign the form because then we are saying that we want out of the agreement which is not true. The salesperson says this is the only way we could possibly get any of our money back. The builder plans to keep our money if we dont sign.


Asked on 12/11/08, 2:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Justin Schmidt Law Office of Justin B. Schmidt, P.A.

Re: Can I get my down payment back?

You should meet with a local attorney for a consultation. Someone would need to review your contract to determine if you have proper grounds to terminate and receive a return of your deposit.

I would be hesitant to sign anything given to you by the developer without having the documents carefully reviewed by an attorney.

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Answered on 12/16/08, 10:09 pm


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