Out of pocket expenses for President

it has been thirteen weeks i have been waiting for my hab licence arenal  told me in dec06  it would be in place by end of jan 07 but still waiting  got in touch with our mortgage lenders  who told us it should not take longer than 8 week for a licence to be granted  they got in touch with our solicitor and told him to pull his finger out  and get it sorted  as they put a lot of work his way  then phoned  the developers and told them the same

they phoned me back the same day and told us you have to push to get things done in spain and it would all be sorted out bristol fashion   hope they are right and i hear soon will post news .a.s.a.p

I purchased an apartment in Arenal Golf, Phase2 almost two years ago.  Last year Arenal sent out a letter saying that the development was going to be delayed, and hence according to contract I had an option to cancel.  I therefore asked my lawyer to send a Bureau Fax to Arenal to cancel the contract and forward my 30% deposit to me plus interest as stipulated in the contract.  Everything was legal and done correctly.  I specifically used my lawyer to ensure everything is done correctly.

I am still waiting for the compensation.

Things in Spain are never as clearly cut as they are in UK. A contract does not necessarily give the same protection as UK.  My lawyer tells me that it would cost me another 27,000 Euros and upto 3 years to go to court and get any results, however even if I win back my deposit, the court MAY not grant me a compensation on my legal fees.  To make matters worse, Caja Sur is now taken over from Arenal which makes matters even more complicated.  I have now read alot about spanish law and property laws in Spain, and in some parts know more than some of the legal advisers. I can clearly say that we are very lucky in UK.

HI Davidf

Can you confirm that you got your 30% deposit back and its just the compensation you are waiting for? or are you still waiting for the deposit as well.

Hi All,

Just got back from CDS and gleaned the following;

Caja Sur originally owned 50/50% with Arenal 2000. Caja Sur now own 100% after buying out Arenal's share.

Since the August holiday there has been hardly any building activity on the sight and Arenal's builders all left in February, strangely coincides with the arrest of the owner of Arenal. Allegedly the Arenal owner has also put Tivoli world and Xanit hospital up for sale.

Gerens will take over in April appointed by Caja Sur.

Blocks 1, 2 & 3 have an architects certificate to say they are complete dated 15 November and Arenal applied for the habitation license back in December, still not approved by the town hall.

Some of the blocks nearest the Xanit hospital (top end) are little more than shells, others nearer completion. I have takan several photos of phase 4 and will hopefully upload them in a day or two. The site looks worst now than when I visted in December! Some apartments on phases 6, 7 & 8 look nearly as complete as the top end of phase 4.

According to our lawyer, because they have a completion certificate for our block 2 apartment Arenal have fulfilled the contract before the deadline of 31/12/2006. Strange that the common grounds, swimming pool and site access are not complete that they can have a certificate to say it is finished.

Informed by the Arenal office that 30% of the site is still unsold (true figure?). ADH lead us to believe 2 years ago, that the only available units were reserved plots falling through and becoming available.

Our lawyer said that under Spanish law they have 6 months grace to complete, for all of you who bought at the top of phase 4 in my opinion, they will not be ready by then.

Any questions drop me a line.

We have pulled out and are now going through legal proceeding.  Our apartment was suppose to be completed Dec 2006.  In September 2008 it was still not completed so we starting proceeding.  This is still pending and to this date we still have no apartment and no money back.  Is anyone in a similar position???  Times are hard in England and we desparatly want our money back its so frustrating.

 You could be in for the long haul here as the courts appear to be on the side of the developers due to the credit crunch etc in these court cases also expect Prienesur to fight it all the way.In saying that a few buyers have got their money back as well a lot depends on your solicitor too.What phase and block was your apartment in and has your solicitor given you any feedback on the likely outcome?

 It would seem that a lot depends on whether you officially terminated your contract before the date on which the occupation licence was granted for your Block. If termination was attempted after the occupation licence was granted, then you're on much stickier ground.  

We know of someone who has been told it will cost 30,000 euros to take it through the courts ,and that if they lose, they could be faced with another 30,000 euros to cover the developer's costs. They have also been told that if they are forced to pursue the purchase the developers will offer them a discount on their apartment!

We know of others who have felt that they had no choice but to walk away, and in the process lose their deposit.

Dave is quite right. There have been many recent examples in the Spanish press of the courts taking the side of the developers.

I would guess that it's essential that you seek independent legal advice, as many of the solicitors used by purchasers are also tied into the developer in some way or another. Irwin Mitchell, the UK law firm ,has branches in Malaga and Marbella and I understand that they deal with cases such as yours.

Good luck. I hope that you have a successful outcome to your situation.