Yes, if you cannot go through with the purchase, even through no fault of your own, you loose your deposit. The purpose of the deposit is to compensate the seller for the lose of the sale. The only time you would get it back is if the *seller* caused the sale to fall through--e.g. they were unwilling or unable to sell to you; in that case, the deposit would be returned because they cannot cause you to lose the house but still keep your money. But if they weren't at fault--even if you, too, were not at fault, and it was due to some third party (like the lender) or other circumstances beyond everyone's control--the seller gets to keep your deposit.