Some/many of the deals Banks are now proposing to new clients are of already sold properties. They were sold to consumers through perfectly valid and enforceable private purchase contracts under the protection of Law 57/68 and Consumers Law.
This is the sequence , as you all perfectly know, of how these properties were born and are in the market now:
1.- Banks receiving money as off plan advanced payments had a duty to secure on the existing of Bank Guarantees and Insurance Policies for the refund of the same to they payers for the cases where there was a delay on start or end of works. These Bank Guarantees were not , in many cases, provided to consumers.
2.- Developers did not finished on time or according to publicity expressed in the contract, buyers decided to cancel their contract and ask for the refund of moneys. Very few were refunded by developers as the real estate and financial crisis came right then.
3.-As there were no completions and no new financial support by banks to developers, these started defaulting on payments of their mortgages to build.... and of course they started pushing consumers to subrogate their debts against banks.
4.- Consumers refected this pressings covered by rights out of Contract and Consumers Law.
5.-Banks then started the enforcement of mortgages on building sites and completed properties and saw growing their property stocks.
6.- Now they nicely come back again to new buyers with what they call l " deals" . What about the former buyers of same properties?
7.- Consumers are enforcing their rights against Banks out of provision 1.2 of Law 57/68.
8.- If Banks are wise enough, the recognising of these debts to consumers will be the best way to attrack this new buyers they desperatedly need. A show about the need for banks to not operate in disregard of the interests and rights of their clients.
Good for Law 57/68. If this did not exist, we would have made it up.... as someone said once about America ( allow me the comparison ;)
Judges and good Consumers Law specialists and lawyers are now risponsable and protagonist actors for the brightness of these guarantees of consumers.
Let´s keep moving ahead!
Best to you all,
Maria
Roofs in Nerja by Roberto Pecino at Flickr.com