Claiming funds from a person who sold me a house knowing it was falling down

A long story but I hope someone can help me.

It all began in 2003,  I bought a house from a british seller 253,000.00 through a local solicitor firm, I paid my money upfront as requested by the solicitor and all was going well. At the time of purchase I was working in Bosnia therefore it made sense to do it the correct way. the same solicitor was acting for the vendor as well as my self the buyer ( in my opinion ethically incorrect). After 5 months of moving in I had to move my family out and rent a property in the area near where we were living. the problem with the house was that loads of cracks appeared and moved dramitcally during previous years I then tasked a structrual engineer to look at the property which confirmed the findings. It appears from reports that this had a history of cracks etc from information from local residents.

The solicotor arranged the inspection etc at the time of purchase and the report from the surveyors did not show anythng as it seemed it was a drive by inspection and also arranged the mortgage throught Cajsur. I approached Cajsur and they refused to help at all.

Anyway to cut a very long story short I questioned the solictor on these findings and he agreed it was unsafe, the solicitor also arranged the house insurance but you guessed it, this did not cover the house for repairs etc.

I then went to see another solicitor to see what I could do the outcome to date is I have a final hearing in the courtsthis month for a claim for 220,000.00 euros. In the meantime I have paid rent of over 40,000.00 in the last 5 years. since then I have applied for a reformation which is near completition costing me another 150,000.00. If the result is in my favour my question is the Seller is now in the UK and everything is being done in the SPanish Courts what procedure is there to claim this money back from the Seller?

Everything has been done above board from my side and all legal licenses, deeds etc

Secondly is the solicitor firm responsible for any neglect as I was his client?

I suppose this case is nt unusal but if you have any website, contacts etc where I could retrieve information it would be appreciated.

regards, Another Mug

When you signed for the house at the Notary, were you told that you were buying the house 'as it stands'? ( in Spanish of course ! ) This should have been translated for you. It seems that most resales here are sold like this and you are, in fact, agreeing to take the house 'as it is'.

From what you have said it seems you have found a solicitor to take on your case but it is very difficult, even after a sentence ( result ) to get money when the person is in the UK.

When I signed for the house it was sold as if there was nothing wrong with it, if there was a clause that stated "bought as seen" then this was never translated.

As it is now it has been through the courts for the last 4 years so if this was the case then this would have been highlighted during the hearings.

Recover the money is something that I will of course have to pursue.

Thanks for your reply and are you in the legal services?

 Im sorry to hear of your predicament. You need to run this by a lawyer. A judgement given in one country (especially EU) can be translated and lodged in another PROVIDING the judgement does not contravene local country law.

Dependant therefore ont he judgement you get, you should be able to lodge this in the uk court local to the seller, obtain judgement and then enforce it but it will depend on if the the UK judge accepts the judgement from Spain. Check the wording on the spanish side but I do urge you to get proper legal advice.

Good luck

The Court decission will have to be executed abroad through Courts´  international proceedings.

Thanks you for your advice, I know this is not going to be easy and where can I find information regarding the International Court proceedings.

"He Who Dares Will Win"

The international execution of the Court decission needs to be applied by your lawyer before the Spanish Courts. They will deal with it.

Best wishes,

Maria