forced complete

[Suzanne]

The link posted above under 'Petition' is only for those who have Bank Guarantees which are not being honoured. It sounds to me that the 'Guest' who has posted does not have a BG after all.

I hope it is in order for me to post the details of a Petition which has been set up for Everyone who is having problems with their 'property purchase' in Spain.

Many who have signed were told by their original lawyer that they had a bank guarantee, in accordance with Spanish Law, only to find that after all they do not have one. Some were told they don't have a BG because they "didn't pay for it". There should be no charge to the purchaser of the property for this BG.

Our Petition is also compiling a Lawyer Complaints Document, as many of us have had to change lawyers - some three times before they found a reputable lawyer who upholds the ethics & principles of their profession. These complaints are serious and need to be addressed.

I was able to deliver a letter about Our Petition by hand to 10 Downing Street yesterday. Initially I was told that this would not be possible, but after some perseverance and discussion (etc!) I was allowed through the iron railings & the letter was delivered. Our Petition will be handed in to Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, early in the New Year.

Thankfully, many of us are now with a reputable and diligent lawyer whom we can rely on. Thanks to belegal.com for this excellent website & its very informative articles

As I am a new posted, am unable to post the website details but you should be able to find it by googling spanish property scandal petition.

[Lawbird Lawyer]

Dear Suzanne,

You do not need to ask us for permission, you should already know you are free to do it.

The link:

http://www.spanishpropertyscandalpetition.co.uk/

Perhaps it would be a good idea if you opened your own specific thread on the matter to raise awareness on the petition.

With kindest regards

[Suzanne]

Muchas gracias. A new thread has been started under 'General Discussion'.

[Lawbird Lawyer]

De nada Suzanne.

[Bob Marley]

We are being forced to complete also. The LFO was issued in November but the anticipated completion date we were given was June 2009 when we first signed up. We also bought the apartment to rent out and the promised facilities such as town centres and golf courses will not be ready until long after we have completed. Can we hold off completion until the facilities are in place or could we claim breach of contract because of lack of facilities?

[Lawbird Lawyer]

We are being forced to complete also. The LFO was issued in November but the anticipated completion date we were given was June 2009 when we first signed up. We also bought the apartment to rent out and the promised facilities such as town centres and golf courses will not be ready until long after we have completed. Can we hold off completion until the facilities are in place or could we claim breach of contract because of lack of facilities?

Dear Sir,

I'm afraid you cannot. The communal elements are not regarded as an essential part of a Private Purchase Contract unless it was specifically worded in. You cannot hold off completion when a LFO has already been granted due to this.

Once the Habitation Certificate (LFO) is obtained for your property you are obliged to complete or else face the penalties within your contract. In fact as per our previous replies in this thread the developer can, at his choice, sue you demanding fulfilment of the contract. i.e. that you complete. And developers are doing this.

Once the LFO is granted you cannot really claim a series of breaches such as late delivery etc this ought to have been done earlier on. The main obligation of the developer is to hand you over the property itself, which he has now done legally as there is a LFO granted by the Town Hall.

[Unregistered]

At the initial meeting with our lawyer when we paid our deposit for a 'flipped' property our lawyer repeatedly told us that our money was safe. He smiled indulgently at my repeated questions regarding the security of our funds and kept telling us there was nothing to worry about and in any case the Bank Guarantee would ensure our money was safe. He explained how the Bank Guarantee worked and even offered scenarios in which we might have to claim if anything should go wrong. They also asked us ti give them power of attorney for the purchase of the property as this would mean we would not have to travel back and forth from Spain to sign the contract etc.,
Tired of waiting almost four years for completion and after repeatedly asking our lawyer to seek the return of our deposit under the terms of the 'Bank Guarantee', (to which their repeated reply was that it would involve a very expensive court case because the bank said, ' Only when a judge says we must pay back the money will we return it to the purchasers') we decided to change lawyers.
When we received our file from them there was no Bank Guarantee. I asked them if they had misplaced it and their reply was, 'The developer failed to do his duty and supply one'.
My Questions.
1.Should I sue the lawyers for gross negligence??
2. What do you think would be the outcome?
3. What would be the approximate cost.
4. Where would I find another lawyer with the ability to do this
Thank you.

Hi, I am in the same situation as you. I have now realised how corrupt the Spanish Law is. I cannot see a way out of this. Unless of course you are prepared to spend nearly as much again. That is what my solicitor is suggesting. I did have a bank guarantee, but it expired within 6 months of the original completion date. My solicitor could have renewed it, but she just did nothing at all. I did not know this, until too late, I cannot see the point of having a bank guarantee that expires just when you need it. I think the only way forward is to get together (there are thousands of us in the same situation) and fight the system together. What do you think?

[Unregistered]

Hi, I have been reading the posts regarding forced completion and that this can be enforced against UK and EU assets. What would be the situation if someone, as I do, does not live in the EU? Does this make much difference?

Thank you in advance for your comments.

[Lawbird Lawyer]

It depends on where you live, but in general, yes they can.

[Unregistered]

Can you advise who is responsible for community fees for apartments where investors have paid a 30% or more deposit but not completed the purchase? Does the responsibility belong to the owner or the developer and are they liable for the community fees from the time the FOL was issued (i.e. when the apartment would have been ready for occupation)

Many thanks

BB

Dear Sir,

Of course. Developers can force you to complete on a property which has a Licence of First Occupation (aka LFO) already granted (fully legal) as per art 1504 of the Spanish Civil Code. They will compell you to complete before a Notary Public on a certain day and time by means of a burofax to the address provided in the PPC.

Failure to do so will result in them not only withholding the deposits as laid out in the PPC but more importantly also they will now be free to take legal action against you for breach of contract as you failed to complete.

It's up to them to decide if it's worthwhile or not to pursue legal action against you even in your home country. Some do some don't.

It is something that quite definitely does happen.

Please read real life's example of developer's threat to complete:

http://www.eyeonspain.com/forums/posts-long-7277.aspx

http://www.eyeonspain.com/forums/posts-long-8175.aspx

http://www.eyeonspain.com/community-...ompletion.aspx

Yours faithfully,
Raymundo LarraÃ*n Nesbitt