Court orders Brits to purchase illegal properties

[Beachcomber]

Does anyone require any more proof that the 'Law in Spain' is a joke?

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/pu ... 3828.shtml

[Paula]

You could almost think you are living in ToyTown living here, expect Postman Pat to deliver your Denuncia written out by PC Plod, while you watch Noddy and Big Ears from the Junta drive off in a red ferrari (bought with their illgotten gains) laughing all the way to bank.

[Jool]

Hopefully the provincial court or whatever the next highest Court up is will restore sanity............I simply do not know how Spain gets away with it as a member of the EU......

I know of so many people who have valid bank guarantees but the banks simply refuse to honour them and thus poor hapless buyers, whose properties are still not available to them some 2 years after completion date have to wait for Court cases - when is a guarantee not a guarantee? When its from a bank apparently.......

[Lavanda]

Very weird and complicated thinking. It seems the judge thinks it's not the developer's fault and so, by extension, the buyers must complete the purchase and take up a case against ... who ... the Junta? Some 'judgements' defy comprehension.
I'm glad I don't live in Andalucia any more!

[julian]

the problem is that this case only involves the promotor agnd the client,and what has the promotor done wrong if he has a building licence,and is not able to deliver for reasons beyond his control and wishes?
if more elements(junta, town hall) were involved in the case the outcome would be different.
as Jool says it may be overturned at a later stage.

[frank]

This has been aired in one of the other forums for a few days now, with the same sort of comments.
"The building licence for Green Hills was suspended in Autumn 2003 and was revoked in Spring 2004. This developer however continued building regardless and continued selling regardless. It's called FRAUD."

[katy]

On the other hand what did the buyers do wrong to pay out 30% deposit and finish up with an illegal property?

I know these apartments, they were greatly overpriced supposed to have "luxury" fittings. The finish is the same bog sub-standard as in properties costing about 180,000. Plus they were sold as having a golf course...they haven't. Hardly any gardens and the pools are plunge size not adequate for the mumber of units. I have no doubt they will be legalised one day but marbella is asking for payment for legalising them...a sort of legal "brown envelope". This payment is supposed to come from the developer, whose betting that the poor buyers will have to pay a few thousand euros each!

It is the developers fault, the permission was for a few town houses, the project grew and grew with a nod and a wink from Roca and his cronies. I believe the promotor is Italian

[Lavanda]

It all sounds like the usual, horrible, confused and corrupt way of doing things in Andalucia. Someone (Beachcomber?) once posted that they didn't think anyone should buy anything in Andalucia if they did not want to lose all their money. Sounds like good advice.

[Beachcomber]

Yes, exactly.

There have been many instances of properties being built illegally with the full knowledge, and often the connivance, of the local Town Hall and Guardia Civil but with no action being taken until the unsuspecting foreign purchasers have handed over all of their money including transfer taxes, etc. to the Junta de Andalucía at which point they are told that the properties are illegal.

Now we have a situation where the purchasers discovered during the course of the construction that the properties were illegal, refused to pay any more money but are being forced to complete the purchase by the court and presumably pay taxes to the Junta for the privilege of doing so.

I don't mind that Spain is a third world country riddled with corruption, nepotism, deceit, incompetence, procrastination, duplicity, hypocrisy, xenophobia, greed, shamelessness and arrogance, I just wish it wouldn't try to pretend to be otherwise.

I don't think those things qualify Spain as a third world country.

If this doesn't qualify Spain as a third world country what does?

[katy]

Most banks are refusing to give mortgages on this development too which means that any purchasers will have to take the developers mortgage on unfavourable terms.

BTW close to this development are billboards advertising units for sale on the same development and claiming to have FLO by administrative silence

[frank]

Nothing surprising here, having read so much about abuse and corruption in Spain,but what does amaze me is how they get away with it. They have aspirations of being a serious world player, yet still continue to behave like a banana republic, and when it comes to the crunch, the EU seems powerless, or doesn't have the cojones, to do anything about it. So no reason to stop, carry on fiddling as normal. ;-)

[Jool]

A case for European Court on Human Rights - how can you enjoy your own home if its illegal - spanish contempt for law, as recognised by other civilised nations, should be stopped...........how it gets away with it I just don´t know, perhaps the EU likes brown envelopes too...........

[Paula]

It's terrible really that you feel fortunate that you didn't fall foul of any of this stuff, rather than be amazed that it can happen in the first place.

We have friends that got badly caught up in the Marbella scandal. Two properties illegal, last stage payment to make on one, the other newly furnished. Their bank accounts holding the last stage payment and extra were also frozen. They are still living the nightmare. They did all the right homework, and are in a right mess now.

[olive]

Surely this is what "our" Euro MEP ought to be taking up on our behalf? Of course I dare say that this scenario is also in its infancy in the new eastern EU European banana republics.

Perhaps our new "El Presidente" when he or she is appointed on the 19th November can take that up as a way into the role.

Meanwhile back on earth...................................

[scampicat]

How can they be forced to buy it? I thought you could pull out from any house sale if you forfeited your deposit.

[katy]

I don't think they can be forced to buy it but they will lose their 103,000+ euro deposit plus they have hefty legal fees. If they buy it will cost them another 200,000+ but they are probably only worth that anyway...they are between a rock and a hard place

[Lavanda]

I think someone - an MEP with clout - ought to take up the whole expensive and stressful business of buying property across the whole of Europe. I like the system of deposits here and the elimination of the gazumping culture but I hate all the legal illegal paperwork here. The sheer stress that some people go through in Andalucia must be enough to bring on a real risk of health problems. It's monstrously not right. Never mind about 'fair'. It's simply bad laws not implemented properly or good laws implemented badly. Whatever it is it needs to be changed. I get furious just writing this ...

[tjtops]

And with all this sort of ongoing publicity, how the hell does anyone stand a chance of selling their (perfectly legal) property??

[markwilding]

The problem here is not Spain. It's Andalucia. Spain is a crazy place sometimes, but come to the north and this situation doesn't exsist. There is a lot more control. I think the moment the appeal courts arrive at national level the courts will see sense
If they don't then even I will be converted into thinking this is a crazy third world country
meanwhile I don't quite understand the judge's reasoning, if the developer's not at fault on the same basis the buyers cant be either

[Lavanda]

I do agree, Mark, that it seems to be an Andalucian problem. Why central government doesn't tackle the problem and bring back investment and people willing to buy into Andalucia beats me.