Who gets the interest on your £51,000? Not you!! The builder gets the use of your money as well as everyone else who has paid a deposit. It’s far cheaper for them than getting a bank loan!! Make sure you have a Bank Guarantee. It is the most valuable thing you can have as it protects your investment against the developer going bust or as in our own situation, the property is never built. You also need to make sure that the BG does not have a date waaaaay beyond the completion date of your purchase contract. Our completion date was October 2005, allowing a 3month overrun from the July 31st date. Our bank guarantee, which the lawyers obtained only last March has an execution date of September 2006. …3 years AFTER we paid our 97,000euros deposit.
