Things of huge interest to some

Rebecca said:
Sunday, August 28, 2011 @ 3:53 PM

I so agree with the blogger, too many here (THINK THEY) know it ALL!

Sue said:
Sunday, August 28, 2011 @ 4:10 PM

Even if people haven't done their homework, you wouldn't wish their bad luck on your worst enemy, would you? That is a rhetorical question by the way, as sadly there are people on the forum who DO seem to gloat when things go wrong.

We thought we had done our homework, and we thought we had a reputable builder, good solicitor etc, but the one thing we DIDN'T know about until it was too late was that we should have had a valid bank guarantee. Potentially we have lost thousands of euros, however we now have our "place in the sun". So we have experienced both sides of buying a property in Spain.

All I can say to those who claim it is the purchasers' fault when things go wrong is "There but for the grace of God....."

Sandra said:
Monday, August 29, 2011 @ 1:14 AM

You are right J,R and S.
One or two members have been getting up my nose for some time now with their smug, superior than thou ,know-it-all posts.

The truth they fail to accept is that many of the thousands of people who appear to have fallen foul of the Spanish property purchasing process did not fall foul at all. They were robbed!

Developers, agents and lawyers worked,sometimes together, to criminally part people from their money in a property 'Boom' that can only be described as a feeding frenzy of property transactions awash with foreign money.

Why else would my swanky firm of lawyers boast on their internet website that obtaining the required bank guarantee for their clients was their duty, and then fail to do precisely that for me?

After I instructed them to cancel the contract (after a three year delay in completion),they told me the developer had failed in his duty to supply a bank guarantee and so I didn't have one!!

The main point that was instilled in me at the initial meeting with them was that my funds were safe because they were protected by a bank guarantee.For almost three years they had been assuring me that everything was in order and my funds were perfectly safe.Liars!
Not only did these lawyers fail to obtain the guarantee, but the bank involved, on being instructed by a judge (in a case which took three years to get to court) to repay me have ,after almost a year still not paid.

How's that my fault?

We are not the numpties that some of you seem to think we are and talking down to us simply alienates us to your posts. Of course some of you may have led a privileged life and not been party to the trials and tribulations of a working class life and so can, to an extent, be excused your ignorance.

I just hope that bubble you people appear to live in never bursts.

Poppyseed said:
Monday, August 29, 2011 @ 2:55 PM

I don't think people who haven't experienced the horror or come close to it in some way can have any idea what it is like. Passing on sound advice and experience is one thing, but being insensitive and critical and sometimes even cruel to the victims is another. I am sure there are very happy people in Spain, but I'm also sure many of them did just the same as the victims but were lucky. I am happy with my house (but not the management of the urbanizacion I must say) and I love my time there but we came very close to not having it because of a greedy developer. There are some horrible two faced hypocrites I wouldn't even respond to on this forum now, they are just not worthy of my time, best to just ignore them.

The Woodbug said:
Monday, August 29, 2011 @ 3:22 PM

It is sad and sickening to hear about the awful predicaments ordinary honest folk find themselves in as a result of the lack of clarity in law, corrupt builders and oficials and indifferent Spanish lawyers. Of course there will always be the 'I told you so brigade' - they were the lucky ones! It has to be said though that many homes have been lost because the buyers did not keep up payments as they had been caught up in the crazy property boom hysteria and were perhaps a little too hasty to part with their money. Even so, it is still sad as the effects are far reaching on the families, especially the children who don't understand the issues involved. Anyway, on a lighter note its good to see that at last Spain is making an effort - on 12th July this year the President of Andalucia announced that between 3000 and 4000 home are to be legalized. If anyone would like a copy of this article, please let me know.

normansands said:
Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 8:29 AM

is this the chap you mean.............

03 Sep 2011 14:45 by Jon07 in Sydney. 78 posts Send private message

The "silent majority" of expats in Spain appear happy & have not been ripped off in any major way i.e. the benefit of applying commonsense checks/due diligence (given the public knowledge that some Spanish based lawyers are negligent/dishonest).

Against that background, conducting a very PUBLIC LIFE LONG WAKE over losses despite clearly acknowledging not conducting adequate research/checks & naively throwing oneself into the arms of lawyers appears FUNEREAL.

Is it time to give the majority a little break ?

Cheers,

Jon

he posted this on the happy thread

Tosh said:
Monday, September 5, 2011 @ 11:08 AM

The comments by Jon07 have obviously been made by someone who really hasn't a clue about what is going on in Spain. What's this due diligence then? He talks a load of twaddle.

normansands said:
Saturday, September 10, 2011 @ 9:14 PM

be careful Tosh if you criticise this particular idiot Justin will cut you off without a post
but you are right of course
keep telling it like it is