Thor_samir

Dear fellow members, recently I fixed a deal to sell off one of my property. The deal was fixed through a broker and the other party had paid 10% of the property value as "bayana" or token money.
Now the other party has backed out and giving some petty reasons for that.
They are also asking for refund of the money they paid as "bayana".

Now what options do i have here in this case? Please help.

Thor_samir

Do i have to return the whole "bayana" as it is? Or do I have the priviledge of keeping a part of it since it was the other party who has backed out and not me?

cookie

Bhai

As far as I know The "Bayana/token amount" you have got is not refundable if Buyer backs out. No matter there is no paper work.
However, If seller backs out, he is supposed to return the token amount.

__________________
Thanks

prakashjh24

Did you not sign an agreement to sell/ or just the basic prelim terms? Usually it is done by the broker. In absence of ATS accepted practice is as follow -

1. Committment money/ Bayana/ Advance is not returnable. As a matter of fact, I know of cases wherein buyer/ seller ask for double the money in case any of the party backs out. However, in case it is on account of some dispute in the property/ lack of paperwork/ clarity on the title deed etc then situation could be different.

2. It may also happen that the buyer may have identified a better deal and wants to kindda check if you are one of those who dont mind returning the money without making much hue and cry!

3. Best speak to couple of trusted brokers in your circle.

my 2 cents...

Sifar

As far as my understanding goes, Bayana is non-refundable in case Buyer backs out..

Nothing is on paper
, u can refund also if there is understanding b/w both parties but normally it does not get back..

But 10% amount is a high amount for a "Bayana" , normally people giv ranging from 50k-1L as bayana (or token money) just to block the seller from initiating talks to other potetial buyers --

If u have backed out as a seller, u need to return the money for sure --

If u manage to keep the money, njoi the 10% & your plot as well..

Thor_samir

First of all, thank you cookie bhai(who is also a neighbour as i put up in greater noida as well ), prakash bhai and shah bhai.

1) There was a agreement on a 100 rs. stamp paper for the amount paid.
2) The buyer has backed out giving the reason "their family members are not liking the house". Most probably, they have identified a better deal as pointed out by Prakash bhai.
3) Which court will deal with the matter IF there arises a reason for the matter to be resolved legally?

Thor_samir

P.S. : The agreement was just the initial agreement which said "the buyer has paid so & so amount to the seller as a token money and the seller will give the buyer a period of 3 months to complete the full payment".
No "Agreement to Sell" was signed.

humble_guy

keeping 1L and returning the rest would be a safe thing to do, if the reason for buyer backing out is not due to any defect in property title or paperwork.

PS: Otherwise, there may be stretched out litigation and the buyer may hire nasty folks as well. it would be advised to find a win-win middle path..

AnkurPune

I think the whole idea of Bayana is that it is non refundable, and it shows that the buyer is 100% committed to buying the property. I don't see any reason why it should be refunded. The seller may have lost potential buyers due to the bayana.

prakashjh24

If you dont mind sharing -

1. whats the ball park value of the deal?
2. how much advance are we talking of?
3. Whats your broker recommending? Was there any conversation/ understanding at the time deal was struck?
4. Whats the profile of the buyer? e.g job/ business, if business what kind of business?

My reading of the situation, basis my limited understanding, is you dont seem to be at fault in this. However, tread carefully as you never know what kind of person you are dealing with. At the end of day, nobody likes loosing money!

A small advice - Don't commit any thing to anyone before you give it a good thought and firm up your mind. You may want to be reasonable and look for a unanimous solution without the need of muscle power being exercised by anyone! Typically the scenario I am talking abt is only for the commitment money and NOT when 10% advance money has been paid. You need to decide for yourself if this is a genuine case and accordingly may want to settle down forfeiting a reasonable sum (in the range of 1-5% of the deal value).

my 2 cents....