Deposit Returned

At last my deposit has been returned and is safe and sound in my UK account. I have mixed feelings, I am gutted that I didn't purchase my dream apartment in Arenal Duquesa. On the other hand I am relieved to be out of it as my block STILL doesn't have a License of First Occupation. It also concerns me that reading on this forum that running costs appear to be escalating.

I may well take another look at the development some time in the future when things have settled down. In the meantime to all those that have completed carry on enjoying it. If completion had been when it was supposed to have been I would have been one of you! Oh well that's life.

Alan

Great result Alan !

Can I ask, did it come from Preinsewer direct, or via bank guarantee ?

Will

Hi Will,

It came from the insurance company via the Bank guarantee. We could have have pursued priensuir for the additional 10% but that could have taken years through the courts with no guarantee of winning. (We heard that judges are now treating developers favorably through this credit crunch!) So we settled for the easier option and that decision was made even easier by the favourable exchange rate.

Alan

Hi Alan

Pleased that you received your deposit at long last....but sorry that you will not be purchasing and joining us.  Good luck with any future plans/dreams you may have.. and be sure to drop by if you are in the area. ..for a little football discussion, of course.

Thanks Tracy may well take you up on that. I will definitely be back at some point for a look around.

Alan

Well done, glad you got your money back, must be a great relief.  Don't let it put you off buying, we are up in Coto Real and love it and everything went smooth when we bought we had no problems, we have even got Will and Marrian up here now.

Yep, it was Maureen & Dennis wot done it and it's all their fault

We're up at Coto Real but our (now) €100K deposit is still down with you lot at Arenal Duquesa.

There were a few of us at Coto Real at the same time last week and there is a real sense of community there (with a small c as well as a big C).

Steve & Sara hosted a drinks & eats party, lets see, Maureen & Dennis, Zish & Jan, Ray & Marion, John & Kath, Brian & Lilly, and Kev & Jane from ItZabar dropped in.

Although it was a lovely day it certainly cooled down in the evening. All right, it got freezing in the evening

By that stage I was on my fourth large Canadian Club and funny enough things started to blur a bit and go a bit wibbly wobbly. I blame it on the ginger ale. 

The last sight I remember before passing out was Maureen with three jackets on and a rug wrapped around her and she was still complaining about the cold. Girls, eh ?

Once Arenal Duquesa get a few more Owners on board you will find that your community grows as well, in the strict sense of the word.

By the way, any word of a name change yet  from Arenal Duquesa to something a bit more inviting like Duquesa Creek, Duquesa Landing, Duquesa...................?

Will

I had a really nice night  but have never been so cold in all my life, can you believe I hardly drank as the glass was too cold to hold and all I wanted was a cup of coffee to warm me up.  Hard to believe I know but that's how it was, soon made up for it the next night.

Fabulous community building up on Coto Real, gets better and better, thanks to Steve and Sarah as they live there and are always introducing us to new people.

Can't wait for 9th April when we go back.

Just got word last night from our solicitor that the guarantee insurance company have now agreed to pay the bulk of our deposit placed back years ago. We legally cancelled Dec 07 and since then have been given the runaround from Arenal/Preinsewer. We sued both Preinsewer and the insurance company jointly.

Some of the excuses were very inventive, director is on holiday, can't find the check book.............true.

Anyway, the insurance company caved in as we were determind to pursue this right through to Court, we paid the Court & Legal Fees even though that caused us more than a bit of hardship.

However, we still are owed €18,000 and are carrying on with our lawsuit against Preinsewer only to recover this. This is the balance owed to us from the purchase contract.

We find this company totally reprehensible, they have so far not paid a single cento, instead relying on the insurance company to cover their ass.

We're delighted to have been offered the bulk of it, and will trouser it gratefully as it has been a constant worry.

We are now even more determined to carry on and recover the balance.

This message was last edited by wflem007 on 21/10/2009.

Well done Wil, so the drinks are on you next time your out????????????????

Guess so and happy to do so ! Not out again until our AGM Feb 2010 if you can hang on that long....

I think you still have the remnants of my Canadian Club from your last party. I think it just gets passed around apartment from apartment with whoever's having the latest swaree  Love our get-togethers, great craic, and great Community spirit.

Knowing this developer I'm sure getting the balance from them will drag on and on but we don't care now. Happy to wait for as long as it takes as the main pressure is off.

When we cancelled, Priensewer promised us our refund within 2 months, and so we then bought on Coto Real, thinking (silly I know) that our refund would be there to put down against the purchase at completion. When it became clear that we we not getting the refund in time, we had to scramble to take out an additional mortgage to cover the difference which was pretty stressful and costly.

If it had of been 6 months later I couldn't be sure that we could have got a mortgage and stood to lose everything. Personally I think these developers prey on us so called rich foreigners, anything goes.

And so we have ended up paying the additional monthly mortgage for the past 18 months which was never budgeted for and we shouldn't have had to do.

Despite chasing Preinsure we were just given the runaround so we then had to stump up for legal fees to issue procedings. All in all it left a bitter taste in our mouths.

The balance we are claiming is not one cento more than what was stipulated in the Contract even though we might have grounds to add on other costs we incurred.

Despite all that the development is great (do we have a decent name for it ?) and I would recommend it, but not the developer.

Well done Will! It's been a long haul for you just the last hundred yards now and it will all be behind you.

It was the insurance company that paid us out in the end. I couldn't face a battle with Priensure and it all seems a long time ago now.

I still regret not having my apartment but then read about the mysery some are still having with regard to deposits, license of occupation etc. Then I think oh well maybe I'm best off out of it.

Anyway congratulations on your success.

Alan

Wil, your Canadian Club is still there for you, mind not much left, there is only you that drinks it so it's safe until you get back.

Under the circumstances we are now coming out for the AGM in Feb so will see you both then, give our love to Marriane.

Hi Maureen & Alan

Maureen, I'm sure it must be just a dribble left of the Canadian Club, but every drop counts at the end of a night :-

Great to hear that you and Dennis are coming out to the AGM - what is it with these developers ? They have a total disregard for normal Owners and simply ride roughshod over everyone.

I still think it's safer to buy property in Africa that it is to buy in Spain. So much for the European Union and it's common laws that are supposed to apply throughout. Rubbish.

Alan, thanks for that. It has been a long struggle but it now rankles that it was the insurance company who paid out and not Preinsewer themselves but we are going to hang on and go for every cento remaining. If it was the other way around, what do you think would happen........?

The twist in the story is that Preinsewer never renewed the bank guarantee, yet it's them who have paid out. Maybe that was their strategy all along.

Guys, looking for some info.

I was contacted by PM from a buyer on Arenal Duquesa who had legally cancelled in Sept 07 but is still awaiting the 30% deposit refund ever since.

His solicitor has told him that the License of First Occupation for Block 4 was issued in Sept 07 which doesn't ring true to me, unless my memory is more shot through than what I thought.

Can anyone let us know when the License for Block 4 was issued ?

Thanks

Hi Will

Block 4 received LFO along with blocks 5,6,7,11 & 12 and completion started Jan 2008.    Without looking at my paperwork I cannot say for sure when the LFO was granted but Sept 07 seems about right...therefore any one in the said blocks would not be able to cancel through the insurance route to receive the deposit.  It is my understanding that they may have to take them to court personally or kiss goodbye to the deposit. 

I have a copy of the certificate.  LFO was 28 September 2007.

My solicitor said at the time that there was no way out after that.  You legally had to complete, or lose your deposit.

Thanks PD & Laurdan - much appreciated although that was confirmation that my memory is totally shot, and then shredded through the mincer.

I'll pass that info on, thanks once again

By the way, just received the legal bill for all my shenanigans with Preinsewer of €11,349.82 which we are asking the judge to award in our favour.

This message was last edited by wflem007 on 25/10/2009.