Penalties?

You guys on the subforum here are very knowledgeable about the way that a project gets off the ground. Could you please respond to any question below that you know about. Thanks.

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Are there any penalties that a developer faces if he takes a deposit for a unit on a speculative building and that building never goes ahead with construction?

Does the amount the perspective home owner puts down on a unit based on cash available to the developer or mainly as an assurance that the money will be there if construction takes place?

How much do the incredible costs of the pre-construction period weigh on the developer's decision of whether to go through with a project or abandon it? (a helluva lot of money is often lost to promote and pay taxes on a building site where nothing is going to happen)

Can you really chart the chances of success of a project by how the developer releases info to the media? For example, does the changing of a vague drawing to a highly detailed model or the includsion of detailed floor plans indicate the developer is closer to breaking ground?