El blog de Maria

Your daily Spanish Law reporter. Have it with a cafe con leche. www.costaluzlawyers.es

We do not want to cancel contracts.Costaluzlawyers
Thursday, July 10, 2008 @ 10:09 PM

Dear all:

Yesterday....after posting about our success in contract cancellation, something left a bitter taste inside me which has been pushing inside till now.... : I want to share something with you:

It was not fighting against developers and cancelling contracts of english speaking people in Spain the core of my dreams when I started the Costaluzlawyers adventure two years ago. Rather the contrary.

I wanted to help people to settle in Spain, specially in Costa de la Luz.

Let me tell you a bot of our tale:

A friend of mine made a blog for me and suggested me to fill the blog with good and relevant information which would help me to have an enhanced position in Google listings. ( that was before meeting you, Justin...!! of course) . He also suggested me to link to related websites. That´s why I met Justin. I called him and we agreed on me sending some articles for him to review and maybe post in EyeonSpain newsletter.

I have just concluded a case as my father´s assistant ( yes, he is also a lawyer) for which I have deeply studied on Bank Guarantees, so... I decided to write on that topic and send it to Justin together with a couple more of pieces on Real Estate Consumer Law in Andalucia. He trusted me and started published them in the newsletter and ...... suddenly.... dozens of emails filled my inbox.

It was not that the article were excellent... it was that none of you knew of your rights as Real Estate consumers in Spain. The right thing, the right moment, the right way.... Of course hours and hours of work advising people too.

I am writing this... because,even when the public has asked us, by now... to help then have their deposits returned... and that is being our main task recently. What we really want to see happening is to have people moving/ investing/ holidaying in Spain ["if the economy permits it.... ( where are we going economically??... I wonder a lot recently)] with full guararantes and them being in control of the situation. Such a challenge! We think big!

We are six now... and we hope to grow so we can offer better and broader services, we want to make a difference in the legal arena for english speaking people in Spain. We want you here and we want you happily here.

So that....please forgive our mistakes and encourage our efforts... we try hard.

Needless to say.. I have got the best people with me: Rocio, Aroha, Steven, Almu, Patricia, borther Ignacio, brother Jaime, Fernando, Alicia, Luzvi y papá. Thanks to you all.

Love from Spain,

Maria

By Maria L. de Castro

web@costaluzlawyers.es

www.costaluzlawyers.es

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11 Comments

Justin said:
Thursday, July 10, 2008 @ 9:02 PM

Maria, it has been a pleasure to work with over the past couple of years. You have been a real asset to the website.

Your success is down to your hard work, honesty and sincerity.

You have created a great team (and fun office) and I'm sure you'll continue to have much success in the future.

It's been a pleasure.

Justin

Rosemary said:
Friday, July 11, 2008 @ 10:39 AM

Hello, Maria, I am sure people realise that you have not set out to fight developers. But many developers/builders are in the wrong and are giving Spain a bad reputation to buyers. Many people only want their house and lifestyle in Spain, and their intention is not to just get their money back, but after years of waiting for their dream home just want to re-invest their money in another home with another builder or estate agent. So please keep up the good work and believe that those people you are helping still have that dream that you are helping them to achieve.

Sandra said:
Friday, July 11, 2008 @ 2:24 PM

Well put Rosemary.
The actions of some builders/estate agents/solicitors during the buying experience will have left some purchasers dream of a 'Place in Spain' in tatters, and almost certainly will have shattered their confidence in their ability to cope with living in a foreign land.
Years spent dreaming of spending the winters of their retirement days in a warmer climate,playing golf, walking and discovering a new and relaxing lifestyle seem wasted,when the property that was going to take a few months to complete takes years.
Peoples' lives are put on hold whilst they fruitlessly wait, at the mercy of people they should have been able to trust implicitly but who have neither the concience nor the integrity to speak the truth, in expectation of one day living their dream. Until one day they realise they have waited in vain, that their dreams have been dashed, they have waited so long that the excitement and expectation has gone and they must now find someone who they can trust to get them out of the whole terrible mess.
Then, like a beacon of light, a firm of lawyers such as yours comes to the rescue.
And, hopefully, when the memories of the bad experience have subsided, people will again look again at fulfilling their dream of a holiday home in Spain.

Chrissie1 said:
Friday, July 11, 2008 @ 7:47 PM

To Maria & Co

We speak from the heart when we say you and your team at Costaluz are a shining example of the reason why we chose Spain to retire to. It is just such a shame that things are not going as planned. My husband and myself are very confident that your intentions are honourable and we are still looking forward to holidaying in Spain in September and we will hopefully come and see you and who knows we may still be able to live in Spain. We will have to wait just a little longer thats all.

Justin
Thank you very much Justin you are a very patient and good Moderator and Editor. Keep it up and enjoy friday evening we wish we could be there at the get together.

Kind regards Christina & Robert

pat roskell said:
Monday, July 14, 2008 @ 3:19 PM

Do you know who I can contact regarding cancelling contracts as that is my position I find myself in? Thank-you

Maria said:
Monday, July 14, 2008 @ 4:37 PM

Hello Pat:

We can help you and anyone interested on contract cancellation. What I was just trying to say is that even when we are 100% providing just that service to English speaking people in Spain, adn we are pleased to be helpful with that, it was not the original aim when we started COSTALUZLAWYERS.

mr mayor said:
Monday, July 28, 2008 @ 11:17 PM

Hi Maria,
The majority of those wishing to have the contract cancelled are still intending to make a move to spain however they have put up large amounts of savings on property that will never be built.
If they are young they have the possibility of recouping this amount over the coming years.
However most are at the end of their working life with no chance of replacing lost deposits.
I look forward to sharing your world where solicitors and developers can be viewed as men of honour and integrity.
In the UK solicitors have a "persieved integrity" and many of us have put our misplaced trust in Spanish lawyers.

JEFF said:
Monday, August 25, 2008 @ 12:02 PM

I purchased an offplan apartment Gran Mirador 3 in 2003.The brochures/model in the showhouse all advertised the facilities would include a golf course/leisure centre shops etc.To date however,none of these have materialised.The complex now is becoming very rundown ie lack of maintenance.My apartment has been up for sale/rent for the past 18months with no interest at all.Can you please advise what chance I have on getting my deposit back as I feel I have been sold a property on false advertising.

Maria said:
Monday, August 25, 2008 @ 1:08 PM

Mr Mayor:

I would love to have a chat with you on Ethics for lawyers.

Jeff: I would be pleased to assist you. Please email me to: mldecastro at costaluzlawyers.es or marialuisa at costaluzlawyers.es

Thanks to you two.

Maria

bernard reynolds said:
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 @ 10:55 PM

Dear Maria
I hope you can help me
I paid 25k sterling as a downpayment through a british broker for one of the properties at medina elvira.
I am very worried as this broker is asking for the other 25k second downpayment and I have no information regarding the state of the development.
I have e mailed peninsula and heard nothing back from them.
I paid the money through a spanish bank account in my name the bank is called BANCO CAM
and I am told that they are guaranteeing my money in the event of a bankruptcy by the developer.
The broker in England is called tony haslam and he owns a company called fluid finance which handled the investment for me,
he has the receipt for the first payment although I have never seen it and he says he has the bank guarantee although I have never seen that either.
I would say that I am very naive with all this business and would really appreciate any advice you could give me please Maria so that I can have some confidence that either A) I could get out of this situation and get my money back or B) Have some confidence that it will be ok and I can go ahead and give another 25k sterling.
I can send by mail a copy of the contract to your office and pay you to explain it to me please.
I hope you can help me
Thankyou
Bernard Reynolds
bernardreynolds@live.co.uk

Maria said:
Thursday, August 28, 2008 @ 6:24 AM

Bernard:

I have already answered to your email. We do hope to be able to help you.

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Maria
Lawyer. Director of the Costaluz Lawyers team. Useful legal tips for an easy way in Spain. www.costaluzlawyers.es

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