Who holds the 10% deposit when buying a property in Tenerife ?

Normally, the 10% deposit is held by the Real estate agency, until the signing of the title deed in the notary. In this way, if the seller desists to sign the title deed once the deposit is transferred, he must return double the amount received, and in case of desisting of the buyer, the buyer will lose the transferred deposit. In both cases, the Real Estate agency will charge its agreed commission percentage.