I have been reading a number of messages on this forum about being asked to sign the title deeds after the architect certificate has been issued but before the 1st occupation licence has been granted by the Council.
I’m buying an apartment being developed by Aifos at Angel de Miraflores,
Costa del Sol.
I recently received an email from my solicitor which read as follows:
“I have been investigating signing deeds without the 1st ocupation licence. It is not legal to force buyers to do it, but Aifos will try to do it with all buyers of Angel de Miraflores. So it is up to you in the end whether you want to buy with that licence or not. The risks of buying without the 1st occupation licence are high because you cannot get water or electricity supplied. You also risk the council not giving the licence, due, for example, to bad infrastructure, and then it is a serious matter for the occupiers as they might have to leave the building.
If Aifos request and notify us officialy to sign whithin a date and pay the monies due, the counter-attack is to deposit your money at a Notary and notify Aifos officially that the money is there to pay them WHEN the licence is produced and shown to you. Then they can not break the contract and sell to someone else because you have shown
them your good faith in wanting to buy.”
My solicitor has just sent me another email advising me that one of his colleagues has a client who is buying in Angel de Miraflores, and he is advising his client to do the same thing ie to pay the money to a Notary.
Is anyone in a similar position with their purchase?
Does any of what I have said worry you?
Have any of you discussed these issues with your solicitor?
Any thoughts or comments?
This is exactly what is happening to purchasers in the lower blocks of Green Hills.
Developer trying to push purchasers to complete (at threat of losing 50%), despite building licence suspended and virtually no chance of Licence of First Occupation until the situation reaches court and a decision is made (taking up to a couple of years).
Have a look at posts on Green Hills Santa Maria.
It sounds as if your solicitor has come up with some sound advice re. paying the monies to a notary. Certainly you should have all your legal documentation in place before completing your purchase.
These developers with problems re. obtaining the various licences blocked by the Town Hall are jumping up and down at the moment, and desperately trying to make purchasers complete, regardless.
If you “right click” on the sentence”La licencia de primera ocupacion” you can translate the page into English , found at the bottom of the pop-up box.
dorothy – great news re. the 2 fat cats (husband and wife) heads of Aifos. Just shows no-one is untouchable.
First Aifos – next…..you know who at Green Hills ????? 😉
Can you believe that despite not having built a brick, they are making us from the upper blocks pursue the BG through the courts !!
We’ve tried ‘nice’ but they refuse to give us our money.
In any other field of business, this would be theft, wouldn’t it??
They have had our money nearly three years already!!
These directors definitely need the same treatment as Aifos.
Good luck Charlie and Sofia and everyone else who is fighting to get back THEIR money from these developers.
Don’t think Aifos ever give BG’s
Charlie have you tried getting the national?local newspapers interested in your story. This angle worked for some in a similar position as yourself in their dealings with Aifos. Their local MEP also got involved on their behalf.
Read that action was taken against AIFOS when a group of Spanish put in denuncias against them. Has anyone tried this? Its free, just get someone to help with the spanish.
Katy. I think the court case is a result of the number of complaints received at AUSMIN, aSOCIATION DE USUARIOS DEL MERCADO INMOBILIARIO ( Association of users of real estate.) Who have legally taken the case on their behalf.
Maybe its different but it said in the local newspaper that they had put in a denuncia. strange also that despite Brits complaining for over a year about AIFOS nothing was done until a group of SPANISH buyers took action. Answer seems to be join up with the spanish contingent and save on useless lawyers.
The denuncia maybe with OMIC not with the police. I am pretty sure that OMIC accepts denuncias against all matters pertaining to consumer rights and there are no costs involved.
” El juicio por la vía penal …. las actuaciones por los trámites de Procedimiento Abreviado contra D. Jesús Ruiz Casado y Dña. María Teresa Maldonado Taillefer por su participación en un delito de estafa de los artículos 248, 249, 250 1 y 6 del Código Penal“
As I said, this is acriminal procedure that is being followed for which you need a specialised criminal lawyer (If you want a reasonable shot to win, that is). It is not free. Don’t confuse it with a simple denuncia at the Police Station even If the journalist does. It’s una agrupación de causas por economía procesal.
It seems lots of companies are at it.With all the problems with buiding regulations now with the Andalucian government putting stops on various sites the buiders are trying to get in all monies outstanding. We were told by our builders as well that we could pay up and have our house although no licences in place and even problems still with the Andalucian Junta. It was given to us a choice though to do this and not compulsory! but it was prefered by them for us to complete now.
Our solicitor advised us against this as with things not finally legal there could be all sorts of problems as stated in previous posts with connection to the utilitities etc etc, Of course we took her advice , we wouldn’t have done it anyway, but a lot have and now are having problems with cracking of walls and paths etc. Are the builders legally obliged to put things right ? And will they? Even now they have had their final payment from these owners.
Where does everyone stand? We too obviously will need some things to be put right with our property. Should these be done before paying and signing?
There is a lot written about “snagging” on here, however they only pay lip service and in practice they correct very little of the faults. The constructors will be off site asap never to return. If you want to go to court you will need a technicians report which can cost more than the repair + legal costs.
I’ve posted previously re. a friend who has taken a developer to court over faults, some small two major and it has dragged on for over 2 years and cost them over 25000 in legal fees. The developer has now appealed which could take a few more years…don’t you love spanish law. 🙄
We are approaching completion and have read all about the corruption with Aifos etc but it seems our Solicitor is not anywhere near as good and as thorough as yours and sees no problem !
Please advise name of your Solicitor as everything we read suggests that mine (who was recommended by the Agent) is definately in bed with the Developer.
This is a general observation.It is hard believe what is happening on the CDS. Given that purchasers from outside Spain make a huge contribution to its economy, the authorities should be getting very concerned about a possible boycot by foreign buyers on their costas. It will be interesting to see how things develop.”Confidence” in the buying process and in all the actors in the chain is fundamental to the healthy functioning of the market. Good luck to everyone presently faced with a problem. A final thought. Is it not possible to hire a lawyer on a “no fee , no win”(performance fee) basis to contest an individual or group case?
I agree with the soubg advice given by the solicitor, not to complete until all paperwork is above board or else you may well find yourself not only without electricity and water but also in an illegal built property.
They tried to do the same to us last year, bully us into signing , in our care there were other issues apart from having no license and they tried to tell us we would loose the apartment/deposit but we stuck to our guns.
We ended in a legal battle with them so I would listen to the good advice your solicitor gave ,it is very important to have a good solicitor. 😡
Keith – your comments were very interesting and I would appreciate details on the solicitor you are using please.
Can you send me a pm please as my current solicitors are trying to force completion without the LFO even though the developers top 3 people are, as we speak, banged up in jail on fraud which seems to make no difference in the Spanish legal system. Business as usual!