I?ve just been advised by my solicitors that the property I intended to purchase in the Algarve is situated in a natural park and that the seller cannot dispose of it. In fact, according to the president of the Camera, the building should be demolished but if that happened the seller would have nowhere to live.

The property was procured through a firm of estate agents. The 20 % deposit was duly paid over to the seller and the relevant promissory contracts signed by both parties.
The whole business has taken 10 months filled with excuses of all sorts whenever any relevant documentation was required, and not produced.

Sales contracts of this type I am given to understand, run on the premise that if the buyer reneges on the contract he forfeits his deposit. Likewise, should the seller not be able to go ahead, double the deposit is returned to the prospective buyer.

My solicitor has since advised me that this is in fact not the case and if double the deposit is required, you have to sue the seller in the courts. And we all know how swiftly the wheels of Justice move in Portugal.

My big worry at the moment is what happens if the seller has in fact not got the funds to return my original deposit. Note, I refer only to the original deposit. The seller could have spent it, lost it in any number of ways, and even the prospect of taking him to court to regain these funds could come to nothing if he declares he has no money, and that the property cannot be sold for obvious reasons.

As I said, all this was arranged through an estate agent. I would have expected that something as vital as a property being situated in a natural park would have immediately disbarred it from even being on their books. In fact I believe there is legislature somewhere that states that all proper documentation has to be in order before estate agents can even begin to process property like this.

My question is the following. If I do encounter problems in regaining my original deposit from the seller, do I have any come back on the agents? Does anyone know what the legal position is regarding a situation like this? Any hints or tips would be most welcome, especially if you have been in a similar situation.
Thanks
Jaylin