A client sent a deposit of £77K over to Florida to purchase a property. Of this £77K, £22K went into escrow, £55K to the developer.
Subsequently, a legal class action case was established against the developer who filed for bankruptcy.
£22K of the deposit was retrieved by the client from the Escrow fund, with no existing rights over the property i.e the contract was annulled by a legal team.
The client has therefore lost £55K but will continue to have to pay interest on the £77K for the mortgage term i.e another 20 years.
The question is:
The £77K came from a home equity release, the mortgage interest on the the £77K was claimed up to the point the escrow funds were retrieved.
Can the client continue to claim interest on the £55K even though there is no asset (property) in existence?