- This topic has 18 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 10 months ago by
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Thanks to both Sami and Guest for your responses, the following is a bit long but sets the picture for you:
The bankrupt developer is Promociones Bonita Hills SL. The company is German-owned. They have built two phases of this development in Calahonda and also built the Albaicin complex nearby.
I bought through the so-called Awful Estates in April 2002 and my lawyer is one of their favoured providers. I do not have the original bank guarantee, just a copy – and have only just received that. It was dated 27 March 2003 and has a ‘vencimiento’ date of 1 March 2004 (i.e. six months after I should have received the keys!) Although it is apparently expired, I understand that it remains in force until the certficate of first occupation is granted – and this has not yet happened, although there are people living in some of the apartments.
My lawyer is hard to contact although I saw them a couple of weeks ago and they told me that they are “90% certain” that I will get my money back eventually, via one route or another – i.e. very vague. However, I have been made aware that my apartment and others are back on the market via one specific agency, presumably because I have notified that I wish to exercise the bank guarantee, following disclosure of bankruptcy. This makes me very nervous – my lawyer tells me that my apartment is NOT for sale but I have been into the agency and seen the plans and know that it IS for sale. The agency told me that the orignal buyer did not have sufficient funds to complete the purchase!!! The other choice I was given recently, in order to receive the keys, was to pay an extra €15.000 in excess of that agreed in the orginal contract – I believe this is illegal (but others have accepted it).
My most immediate concern is that the Bank Guarantee is with a company called Compagnie des Garanties SA of Luxembourg. I found out through another source that this company appears on a list of companies not authorised to operate in Spain. Importantly, my lawyer was not aware of this until very recently – although I find it hard to believe why not. This has all made me very nervous.
My plan is to consult another lawyer asap, but I would really appreciate your thoughts. I do speak reasonably good Spanish (but would struggle with legal jargon). I appreciate your interest!
Ian
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Thanks to both Sami and Guest for your responses, the following is a bit long but sets the picture for you:
The bankrupt developer is Promociones Bonita Hills SL. The company is German-owned. They have built two phases of this development in Calahonda and also built the Albaicin complex nearby.
I bought through the so-called Awful Estates in April 2002 and my lawyer is one of their favoured providers. I do not have the original bank guarantee, just a copy – and have only just received that. It was dated 27 March 2003 and has a ‘vencimiento’ date of 1 March 2004 (i.e. six months after I should have received the keys!) Although it is apparently expired, I understand that it remains in force until the certficate of first occupation is granted – and this has not yet happened, although there are people living in some of the apartments.
My lawyer is hard to contact although I saw them a couple of weeks ago and they told me that they are “90% certain” that I will get my money back eventually, via one route or another – i.e. very vague. However, I have been made aware that my apartment and others are back on the market via one specific agency, presumably because I have notified that I wish to exercise the bank guarantee, following disclosure of bankruptcy. This makes me very nervous – my lawyer tells me that my apartment is NOT for sale but I have been into the agency and seen the plans and know that it IS for sale. The agency told me that the orignal buyer did not have sufficient funds to complete the purchase!!! The other choice I was given recently, in order to receive the keys, was to pay an extra €15.000 in excess of that agreed in the orginal contract – I believe this is illegal (but others have accepted it).
My most immediate concern is that the Bank Guarantee is with a company called Compagnie des Garanties SA of Luxembourg. I found out through another source that this company appears on a list of companies not authorised to operate in Spain. Importantly, my lawyer was not aware of this until very recently – although I find it hard to believe why not. This has all made me very nervous.
My plan is to consult another lawyer asap, but I would really appreciate your thoughts. I do speak reasonably good Spanish (but would struggle with legal jargon). I appreciate your interest!
Ian
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http://www.devwatch.com/events/show/3
Oh dear. If you have a guarantee from Compagnie des Garanties S.A, it doesn’t look good.
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http://www.devwatch.com/events/show/3
Oh dear. If you have a guarantee from Compagnie des Garanties S.A, it doesn’t look good.
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Dear friends,
I am afraid you did not read properly what you signed. What CdG of Luxembourg gave was not a bank guarantee or insurance contract. And certainly it was not you to be insured or guaranteed. The activities undergone by CdG are not regulated by the Direcion General de Seguros but discretionally allowed by local authorities. I’m afraid your knocking on the wrong doors. You invested badly, bare the grunt.
Ciao Amigos. -
Dear friends,
I am afraid you did not read properly what you signed. What CdG of Luxembourg gave was not a bank guarantee or insurance contract. And certainly it was not you to be insured or guaranteed. The activities undergone by CdG are not regulated by the Direcion General de Seguros but discretionally allowed by local authorities. I’m afraid your knocking on the wrong doors. You invested badly, bare the grunt.
Ciao Amigos. -
@pippo wrote:
I am afraid you did not read properly what you signed.
What happened to ‘due diligence’ by the lawyer then?
What are we doing paying lawyers in Spain if we do not get satisfactory service?
However, if this was one of the panel of lawyers promoted by OE then I can believe: ‘um… er…. not sure. You may get your money back…’ (i.e. ‘not our fault, guv’). 🙄
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@pippo wrote:
I am afraid you did not read properly what you signed.
What happened to ‘due diligence’ by the lawyer then?
What are we doing paying lawyers in Spain if we do not get satisfactory service?
However, if this was one of the panel of lawyers promoted by OE then I can believe: ‘um… er…. not sure. You may get your money back…’ (i.e. ‘not our fault, guv’). 🙄
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When I originally signed the contract I checked that there would be a bank guarantee and then left it in the hands of my lawyers – maybe I was naive, but I understood that these guarantees are only available some time after the contract has been signed. Even when I saw the guarantee later it looked genuine enough, with my name as the “garantizado”, correct amounts. description of risk etc. If this “bank guarantee” does end up being invalid (as looks likely), surely there must be some form of recourse rather than me just “bearing the grunt”??
Pippo, you seem to know something about CdG – can you tell me anything else, as it’s hard to find out anything? Thanks.
regards
Ian
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When I originally signed the contract I checked that there would be a bank guarantee and then left it in the hands of my lawyers – maybe I was naive, but I understood that these guarantees are only available some time after the contract has been signed. Even when I saw the guarantee later it looked genuine enough, with my name as the “garantizado”, correct amounts. description of risk etc. If this “bank guarantee” does end up being invalid (as looks likely), surely there must be some form of recourse rather than me just “bearing the grunt”??
Pippo, you seem to know something about CdG – can you tell me anything else, as it’s hard to find out anything? Thanks.
regards
Ian
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This is yet another shocking, rip-off, horror story to come out of Spain…AGAIN. 👿 🙄 It IS the fault of the lawyers…100%. Sorry Jose & Drakan…I know you are good lawyers….I wish we had known of you!!
The message that we…the victims of unscrupulous lawyers, must put out is …”the legal system in Spain is NOTHING like as good as in the UK, it cannot be remotely compared, when it comes to house purchase & contracts”
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This is yet another shocking, rip-off, horror story to come out of Spain…AGAIN. 👿 🙄 It IS the fault of the lawyers…100%. Sorry Jose & Drakan…I know you are good lawyers….I wish we had known of you!!
The message that we…the victims of unscrupulous lawyers, must put out is …”the legal system in Spain is NOTHING like as good as in the UK, it cannot be remotely compared, when it comes to house purchase & contracts”
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