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I brought an off-plan apartment in Ajman, they haven't started the construction yet but i've paid over 30 percent of property price to the developer already, i desperately need to get the money back immediatly from the developer as the project has been put on hold without sufficient reason, i desperately need help, any advice would be very h elpful.

Hate to say it, but the chances of that are virtually zero. Pretty much all off-plan projects all over the emirates are delayed or on hold due to the current financial crisis.

If you go back and read your contract, they normally say that upto 30% of down payments are non-refundable. And there are normally clauses in the contracts that protect the developer in case of delays.

However, you should really consult a property lawyer and see if it is possible to bring a case against them, this is really your only hope of getting any reinbursement. But it will be a long and arduous process, you certainly won't get anything back in the near future if at all.

It's a shame the escrow laws were not brought in earlier, so that developers had to fund projects other than using investors money.

OH snap.

Sorry to hear about it dude. Best is to hold tight and wait for the market to pick back up!

It certainly depends on the developer. Friends of mine bought off-plan in Dubai and the developer, like many, stopped the project. Friends went to developer and basically camped inside their offices and they succeeded in getting all their money back through persistence. I know of others who bought from same developer and accepted the outcome and continue to hold onto their purchase. It was persistence that go them the refund.

Personally, the developer of our property worked out a very nice plan for purchasers. Gave people the choice to purchase something smaller, transfer the down payment and delayed all future payments for one year. The other option was to return the deposit, less 10%. Having said that, it was an Abu Dhabi developer.

Try being very persistent to get a refund or at least a percentage of it try to work out a deal with them, such as agreeing to a certain percentage less that the deposit. Some things are possible. Last resort would be a property lawyer, but keep in mind you will incur the lawyers fee with no promise of a favorable outcome, so you may end up losing money on top of money. Of course Ajman probably has different laws than that of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.