Are there ways of getting your deposit back?

"Walking away" includes walking away from your deposit.

good luck

Your only real option is to consult with an experienced attorney who can look over your contract and determine what, if anything, can be done. An anonymous message board is not going to be much help. Good luck.

For a lot of contracts, if the purchaser dies, the deal is canceled.

You are talking about a ton of money that you may lose. I would hope you have been in continuous contact with an experienced attorney specializing in NYC real estate during this contract period and especially as the market has deteriorated. If not, it isn't too late. DO NOT consult with a lawyer who dabbles in RE and does 2-3 simple closings a year but also sues dry cleaners and handles divorces. You need a RE attorney who will recognize anomalies in the contract and areas where it may be attacked, any violations of state law the developer has knowingly or unknowingly engaged in by acting or failure to act in some way, etc. Sometimes, windows of opportunity to void a contract appear and then disappear so waiting to look into this is not a good idea.

Contact the attorney general's office .. but realize that in general, those of us who watch this market are not seeing buyers who want their deposits back because the market turned against them succeed on the basis of that argument. If you can prove the developer didn't deliver what was promised, that's another story.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty