compensation re builders late completion

Helo MagsB,

Don't give up hope yet,

If you post your situation, there may be others more "in the know" than I am, who may be able to help you.

Tell us all about your situation and then see if anyone has some advice for you.

Not ALL situations are the same, so don't judge by what others have been given advice on here, each case is unique.

Kind regards,

MagsB

have looked at your original post/situation, i'm no expert, and i'm sure Maria can point you in the right direction, but i would have thought that  a good lawyer should fight for a return of deposit. We hung on for ages, with our agents saying it will be allright in the end, and our agent recomended lawyer backing them up. We also had fellow buyers telling us to just wait, then complete as we would never get our deposit back, that always felt wrong to me.  Why the hell should we put up with being treated this badly? You have to remember that at least one party will gain from you completing, even though it might not be in your interest to do so. Good luck!

Hi All, Good luck  to everyone who  are  fighting for compensation  and a return of deposits. Can  anyone  tell me if you do win your case, will the builders have to pay your expenses and legal fees? I am in an almost identical situation as Goodstich, although I haven,t decided to try for the return of my deposits yet, as the Hopeadreamo seems to be almost built. Regards Alex.

Alex

as far as i am aware they do, along with interest, about 4% i think. I am told that more cases are now being settled out of court, as once a developer has lost a similar case in court, they dont want to risk it again. But they will sometimes take it to the final hour before admitting defeat. Good luck!

Thank you Goodstitch and Miket for your advice. It's good to know there may be light at the end of the tunnel.

hi
it seems as though we are in the same situation. we bought off plan october '05 and once we had paid the stage payment our 'solicitor' confirmed that the bank guarantee was 'in order'. we never recieved it despite many phone calls and emails. the building licence was withdrawn mid 2006, and no one knows if they will be granted a new licence. when we asked our 'solicitor' for the bg, she told us it had never been issued. we contacted our agent hoping they would be able to give us some more information. all they told us was that they have every confidence in the builder and that the developer is a reputable company. they've now stopped answering my emails and the person dealing with the site is never in the office. the 'solicitor' (yes, we used the one recommended by the agent - doh!) said it was not her fault the bg was not issued, as far as she was concerned our contract was the guarantee! she advises us against suing the builder for failing to issue the bg. looks like i'll have to contact maria to see if we can get our money back.
good luck to everyone in a similar situation!!

This message was last edited by JeansSis on 5/17/2007.

jason2007

 good luck to you to, lots of us fall for that trick, we assumed that because we were prepared to pay someone, (lawyer/agent etc) to work in our interest, that they would do so, and not betray our trust!... Big mistake i realise now. I think as long as you move fast and use someone like Maria that you can trust, you are at least giving yourself the best chance of justice. You know you are in the right.

goodstich44 and jeansis

thanks guys, looks like i got more than i bargained for when i handed my money over.

jason

Can anyone give some advice.

Have received a letter today to advise that the development will be 1 year late and an offer of compensation for this delay. The compensation is in the form of a package such as free house insurance for 1 year, free connection to electricity and water and gas, free electrical light fittings, alarm pre-installation, white goods and air-con pre installation.

What do you think of this offer.

Has anyone been offered similar before?

Many thanks for any advice

Stephen

Stephen, don't know about anywhere else, but as our development included white goods, a/c, etc., I know of someone who was able to get the developer to pay their IVA.  We had house/contents insurance included for the first year on our mortgage payment and electricial fittings (I presume that refers to light fittings?) are pretty reasonable anyway - so maybe you should work out just what the saving would be either way.

If it's more beneficial to you, try get your lawyers to press for the IVA to be paid by them.  (I STRESS that I do not know what would be more advantageous financially, only you can work that out - just a suggestion).

At least they have offered compensation - lots of developers don't!! 

All the best!