What is a reasonable deposit pending inspection?

DFH65

DFH65

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DFH65
Sub 20K airplane.
 
5-10% of selling price,as long as its refundable.
 
500-1k

I think I gave a 800ish deposit on my first plane that was mid 20s

Gave a 1k deposit on my current plane that was six figures.
 
Reminder to write the deposit agreement so that if you continue forward to purchase the airplane, the money put down on the deposit goes toward the final negotiated number.

Sure, it could be said that this is understood. But when it comes to sums of money that I can't afford to set a match too, I set the agreement on paper.
 
If you can put $1500 deposit on a house, why would any more than that be necessary for a typical airplane purchase, especially if you're a cash buyer, or have a loan preapproval?
 
This is someone I know reasonably well and the airplane will be staying at his strip after purchase. The issue is he has some other people looking at it and I am having trouble finding someone to do the prebuy and want to lock it in. It is priced with consideration for condition so I am not looking to nitpick I know there are some issue that we have discussed but they are not airworthiness issues. I have flown this plane before a few years ago and flew it again this last weekend for a test flight. I just want to verify that there are no airworthiness issues and that it will pass an annual inspection. We are talking about a price similar to a used car and I would be paying cash.

I have a boilerplate sales agreement that essentially says if it passes inspection I will buy it. If it doesn't we can discuss remedies. If we can't resolve them the funds are returned. If I back out for any other reason he keeps the money.

ETA: Also want to make sure the paperwork and logs all match up with the current configuration of the plane. It is an Aeronca Super Chief 11CC mentioned in an earlier thread so not talking about anything very complex.
 
Last edited:
wilkersk said:
If you can put $1500 deposit on a house, why would any more than that be necessary for a typical airplane purchase, especially if you're a cash buyer, or have a loan preapproval?
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Wow, where can you do that? Earnest money for most home buys in southern California run north of 10K...
 
Jeff Oslick said:
Wow, where can you do that? Earnest money for most home buys in southern California run north of 10K...
Click to expand...

Suburban/extra-urban/small-urban Texas. i just literally did that exact amount and im closing on monday. hell in lousiana i put 500 bucks 10 years ago and nobody said boo.

Life in the mega coastal concrete jungles is not representative of an entire Country. theres a lot of alternative lifestyles on this earth, but it requires one accept the idea that Southern coastal California is not the only dignified place to live ones life. i have no sympathy for the folks who scoff at middle America and then whine about crushing housing costs getting in the way of their ability to splurge or otherwise exercise discretion in other facets of their life. not referring to you, just making a general observation based on how frequently i encounter reactions such as yours when it comes to this topic.

as to airplane deposit? Zero for me so far.
 
$1k. 4 figures shows you’re serious.

Heck, using escrow, put the whole amount down if you have the cash now. Make sure your contract is tight though, don’t want to risk losing it to some technicality.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
Wow, where can you do that? Earnest money for most home buys in southern California run north of 10K...
Click to expand...

In 2011, I bought a $400k house with a $1,500 earnest money deposit. The realtor said I didn't have to put that much down because our financing was already preapproved for more than the purchase price.
 
How well do you reasonably know the seller? Reasonably well enough to ask "I want to lock this in, how much do you need me to put down on a deposit?" Well enough to counter with "I'm not comfortable with that much, how about $x?"
 
jaybee said:
0.

Funds in escrow pending inspection.
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If the prebuy (I had a full annual done) finds airworthy problems the buy is off and escrow returned, unless the seller gets it corrected. If the buyer walks away with a clean, airworthy condition inspection, the buyer surrenders the escrow to the seller.
 
I did $500 earnest on a 400k house.. don't think i've ever seen higher either.
 
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