Help Please with this question?

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    • #54577
      Anonymous
      Participant

      I posted this on Problems, Problems but it was going nowhere.

      I have nearly 100K ties up in an apartment I bought in ’03. The LFO was late, after hearing zero for 5 years I received a letter giving me two months to complete (LFO in place), we went back to the developer and asked for a discount because of the delay, he never got back to us. Because of this I missed the close date (July )and this was the last I heard.

      I now want to close because we were getting nowhere with the developer, he is not returning calls from my solr 5 months later.

      I wait 3 years, he gives me two months? I personally feel I have been ripped / robbed at this point. My solr as he never got a copy of the Bank Guarantee in the first place.

      My big question is:

      Can the developer now keep the deposit even if I have heard nothing else? Surely he has to notify me / give me some recourse …..

    • #88605
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Conn – post name of development/developer – maybe then someone can help with some further info/news they may have.
      It’s difficult to give advice when no-one knows where you’re talking about as each development is surrounded by a different set of circumstances and legal standing, but in any case from the sound of it you definitely need to get yourself advice from a new independently-recommended lawyer.

    • #88607
      Anonymous
      Participant

      If you didn’t complete on time when everything i.e. LFO, snagging etc was in place/done then you defaulted on your end of the contract so the developer would be within his rights to keep your deposit and sell on the property.
      I would guess it’s unlikely that, in the current climate, your property could have been sold on already but anything’s possible. Perhaps the developer isn’t that desperate for money?!
      Being given 2 months notice to complete isn’t unreasonable (unless a longer timescale was specified in your contract?).
      With regards to the delay, complaining and asking for a discount AFTER the event is pretty useless…you should have been vociferous as soon as the delays started to become apparent.
      Have you tried contacting the developer yourself or do you know other buyers on the development. It may help if you were to give the name and then somebody might know something about them.
      You have no bank guarantee either? Was your lawyer independent of the developer?

    • #88608
      Anonymous
      Participant

      OK, looking back at your posts I see this is Aldea Hills, Manilva and your posts in Oct say you have changed lawyers already on the advice of this site back then? So, your new, independent lawyer is still having no joy in contacting the developer?

    • #88612
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Hillybilly,

      I am with the same solr, I put it to him that he was not helping and he came back to me to say he was doing all he could to contact the developer so we stayed with him a little longer.

      I tried to get my money back before the LFO was issued to no avail. The builder was not contactable by either the EA or my solr.

      We never snagged the apartment. My solr said it was no problem that we missed the complete because the developer never got back to us.

      No I am starting to wonder if the solr is working with the developer, he did know the EA.

    • #88618
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Assuming that you have everything in writing i.e. all your dated instructions to your lawyer and you can prove that the delivery date was outside that agreed i.e. there were no legitimate claims for extensions of time, then you may have a case against your lawyer for not carrying out your instructions (but don’t hold your breath re getting anywhere with that). You certainly have a case for your lawyer not ensuring that a bank guarantee was in place but it’s all a bit too late for that too!
      How much longer are you going to continue using this lawyer?!

    • #88620
      Anonymous
      Participant

      My solr knows now what he has to do, after this we will see…

      Its coming to a head and I’ll know which way this is moving in Jan. I have since made contact with an alternative solr who says that we have good case re the buillder not getting back to us re the discount etc.

      He also tells me that its not as simple as missing the completion and no other correspondance ending with the developer keeping the deposit.

    • #88622
      Anonymous
      Participant

      @conn wrote:

      My solr knows now what he has to do

      Your solicitor has known what he has to do since you engaged his services and yet hasn’t done those things eg obtain you a bank guarantee.
      In your own words in your previous posts you have called your lawyer “dodgy” and “crappy”, you have been advised by several people to change lawyers since you started posting in October and yet you still persist with the original one.
      Horse…water…

    • #88625
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Thanks for your interest in this post.

      Re the BG my solr didnt have it at the start of the trouble then 6 months months later that he had obtained it (roll eyes), he then said there was circumstances in the BG that prevented us from making a succesful claim. ie the builder built on some land that had a reservation order on it, it was not his fault but the councils for allowing him permission to build on same.

      Therefore the delay was the councils fault not the builder. He said under the BG he was 99% positive they wouldnt pay.

      It goes on and on…

    • #88626
      Anonymous
      Participant

      @conn wrote:

      …..he then said there was circumstances in the BG that prevented us from making a succesful claim.

      Which means he accepted ‘illegal clauses’ that should not be in a Bank Guarantee. A sign he wasn’t doing his job.

    • #88682
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Looks like anything involving not signing on the date required by the developer after the LFO was granted is default resulting in the developer taking your deposit. Question answered.

      Thing I cant understand is why did my solicitor not advise me of this, and how the developer can get away with not giving further notice of his intention to keep the deposit.

      Get ready for a name and shame….

    • #88734
      Anonymous
      Participant

      From Lawyer Maria de Castro as posted on the Eye on Spain Forum

      Q. If the developer completes on time (ie. within contract) and the buyer, for whatever reason is unable to complete (financial problems etc), I assume that the buyer’s full deposits to that point are retained by the developer – Is this true ?

      A. No, it is not. In that situation, the buyer will be either asked to complete or imposed with a penalty clause, which, according to Law should not be higher than the 20% of the deposit ( according to principles such of contract balance and proportionality, and as it is stablished in our Consumers Act). Also now that the impossibility to get financiation is considered to be a ” force majeure” reason by Consumers Legal authorities, which, duly proved and alleged should produce the refund of all your deposit back.

    • #88738
      katy
      Blocked

      That may be the law in theory. Some Lawyers will put a positive spin on anything to get business. Would be interested to see a comment from Lawbird on this.

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