I received the following question from Jules:
"How do I get my deposit back from rip off agent Palmera Properties or the so called builder Inroal - its been over four year. I have 33 374 euros tied up on a development that it would seem is never going to be built, endless request for refunds get nowhere. The spanish system is slow and spanish solicitors want upfront cash for doing very little. I need some advice on how to handle this spanish process and those spanish solicitors. Any advice"
Hello Jules
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with buying a property in Spain. As you probably know Palmera Properties closed down I believe over a year ago now.
The first thing is do you have a bank guarantee? By law the developer, Inroal, should have provided you with this. If you do not have the bank guarantee then your lawyer has been negligent in not ensuring that this was in place when you handed over your deposit.
Secondly, do you currently have a lawyer actually trying to recover your deposit for you? If so and you have your bank guarantee then they should be able to recover it for you, although the developer will probably delay this as much as possible. It's unfortunate that it is no easier to execute the bank guarantees.
In terms of solicitors, it's like any profession, there are good and bad ones. There are some good lawyers active here on Eye on Spain. My advice would be to find one who already has dealings with Inroal and preferably has had some success in retrieving money from them.
Solicitors always require a payment up front in Spain so it is important that you choose well.
I hope that helps you a little and hope that you can get this matter resolved soon.
For and on behalf of Livingstone Estates.
Livingstone Estates are a professional real estate agency based on the Costa del Sol, specialing in property in Marbella and property in Mijas.
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