Calling all folks who lost their deposit (by walking away from the contract)..

no, I don't think you can since you never technically owned the apartment.

interesting...would assume that at best, needs to be offset by capital gains, otherwise limited to whatever low number(2k?) per yr.

Good accounting question there coverdrive. I bet if you walked from a 10% deposit, then went back and bought the same apt for 70% of original contract, you could then count that 10% as part of your basis. Kinda like if you build a house, pay an architect a fee, scrap the plan, start over, all of those fees count toward your basis. Curious what the smart guys say on this thread about that. But, (tongue in cheek), I personally would claim it as a gambling loss and make the IRS prove that I wasn't gambling by signing a contract at the peak.

patient09: "But, (tongue in cheek), I personally would claim it as a gambling loss and make the IRS prove that I wasn't gambling by signing a contract at the peak."

FWIW, gambling losses are only deductible to the extent of gambling winnings. And, yes, I know that it was a tongue in cheek comment, but I'm bored.

patient, correct. One accountant I enquired with mentioned the same thing about being able to count that as a part of my basis when I make another purchase - he did not mention that it had to be the SAME apt.

I advise all who walked away to hire lawyers to fight to get your contract deposits back. Spend more money trying to get back money you will never see. Keep adding to the huge pile of money with no return you've created.

coverdrive: correct, holy bananas, I didn't even take accounting in school, wow, guessing sometimes works!

slope: my point was really a backward view that buying an apt during the bubble was purely gambling (or speculation if you like).

Where's w67th? exit2 is back.