What happens if a receivership sale falls through after I've already paid a deposit?

What happens to your deposit depends entirely on the terms of the purchase agreement and any court order approving the sale process, since receivership sale agreements typically spell out specifically when a deposit is refundable versus forfeited — for example, if you fail to close without a valid reason, versus if the sale simply doesn't receive court approval or a stated condition isn't met.

Because these processes are often court-supervised, a dispute over the deposit may also need to go back before the court overseeing the receivership, rather than being resolved purely between you and the receiver directly. Before paying a deposit in this kind of purchase, have a lawyer confirm exactly what triggers forfeiture versus return, since distressed-sale agreements are not always as buyer-friendly on this point as an ordinary purchase agreement would be, and the receiver's priority is generally maximizing recovery for creditors rather than protecting your deposit.