Hi All,
I have been through negotiations with the solicitor, mortgage broker and valuer in the UK because the Statute of Limitations had passed....the negotiations were successful and I sold the property at auction. The mortgage was interest only and 102k GBP. The property was sold for 40k GBP.
The same thing happened in Puerto de Mazarron in 2005 - the conveyancing solicitor had a Power of Attorney that covered the whole of Spain (I later cancelled this at the notary). The purchase was misrepresented from the beginning by the English estate agents (Sunsea - Alan Hall, who later became the builders son in law ). I am not aware of how or who employs the valuer but the photo I saw was not of my apartment and the valuation was grossly over the true figure - these flats were typically 'local Spanish' in design.
The mortgage was a 30 yr one, and the payments kept going up every so many months. The English who purchased these apartments were told that rent would cover the mortgage, which of course was a lie. Gradually many owners stopped paying the mortgage. In my case there was a bad leak above the bathroom ceiling (the loo above was leaking) and I asked about the mortgage insurance and builders 10 yr guarantee but NO ONE wanted to know!
I had spent a lot of time and money making the apartment nice, hoping that I could at least cover some costs but the above meant that it wasn't rentable due to the sanitation - which was a health hazard.
Caixabank are now chasing me 12 yrs on but it seems solicitors in Spain have no appetite for organised mortgage fraud!
I also was never asked to provide proof of income - and I notice that foreigners were only ever entitled to 70% of the valuation mortgages....my mortgage was 100% so that explains why the valuation was falsified.
Someone else now has a mortgage on my old apartment, and I am able to get in touch with other duped English purchasers who mostly did the same as I did - out of frustration.
Any Spanish solicitor interested in this case I would be grateful to hear from you, as I believe the Statute of Limitations is 20 years.