Contacting the developments

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03 Jan 2007 12:00 AM by saltay Star rating in Pinoso (Alicante) an.... 41 forum posts Send private message

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Our story starts in August 2004 with a trip to the Murcia region to house hunt both for a place to live and a place to rent out. Two and a half years later we are still waiting for both. We bought on phase one of Polaris Hacienda Riquelme and are still waiting for that to be completed. Hopefully it will be ready by Easter 2007…

 

Our experiences of trying to buy a house in which to live permanently have been dogged with difficulties, the main one being our problems with Trampolín. I was recommended to Eye on Spain only a few weeks ago by our agent in Spain, who’s also a friend. Until then I had imagined that our experiences with Antonio were unique, so you can imagine my horror to discover that the whole development is a can of worms and my chances of recovering the €23000 that Trampolín still have of our money are virtually nil but I think maybe we have got off lightly.

 

Friday 13th August 2004 was the day we signed the original contract. I think that should have told me something. This contract was for the house that was known as “La Casa Vieja” – The Old House – being as it was built on the foundations of the original house on the plot of land right at the far end and overlooking what was going to be a sort of village green. At that time there were the pepper pots, and a few houses on the right hand side of the main street, a couple of which were occupied. La Casa Vieja was virtually finished apart from the kitchen and Rafael took me to the kitchen and bathroom shop in Roldán to choose the tiles. We went home to England over the moon. We had found exactly what we were looking for in only a week.

 

We filled in our mortgage application and were convinced that we would have our own Spanish villa by the end of October. Then we discovered that there were paperwork problems…! Our mortgage lenders had based their offer on the whole of that triangular plot at the end, not just the 500 odd square metres that our house was built on. Rafael then explained that he had not put in the “parcelisation” application because he didn’t know what the final plot sizes would be as some people wanted double plots. He said we could use the house as a holiday home once we had paid the 60%. Does this sound familiar?

 

We weren’t happy with this and neither was our lawyer. By this time we had paid the holding deposit plus €20000 but we weren’t prepared to pay any more money until the paperwork was sorted out. Christmas came and went and nothing was heard from Trampolín. Then suddenly in January 2005 our lawyer received notification that the paperwork was complete so he asked to see it – several times. In the meantime Trampolín kept trying to ring us to demand payment but our lawyer had told us not to talk to them until he had seen the paperwork. Another couple of weeks went by and then we heard from our lawyer that he had sent one his assistants down to the site and that it looked as if “our house” was occupied and therefore possibly sold to someone else. This in fact was the case. Trampolín still had our money but had sold the house to a third party.

 

Our lawyer tried various tactics to get Antonio to return our money, including threats of denunciation. All letters fell into a black hole. Eventually we decided enough was enough and we would go and see him ourselves (May 2005). In the company of our lawyer’s assistant we eventually managed to get an appointment to see Antonio. It took three days. A very heated discussion took place (in Spanish) in which Antonio said that our lawyer was not acting in our best interests because he hadn’t come to Spain with us but only sent his “obrero” (workman) ie his assistant, and no he was not going to give us our money back because we had defaulted on the contract by not paying the stage payments on time. However, he was prepared to put the money that he held on another house.

 

At this point we had to make a very difficult decision. My partner and I had two houses in England, one of which was on the market, but there had been very little interest. The house Antonio was offering was a Macarena which was supposed to be completed in the summer of 2006. We liked the design, we chose a plot and we decided that in view of the fact that we probably wouldn’t get our money back that this was probably the best option. We signed the contract. However our lawyer wasn’t prepared to let us part with any more money until he’d got the contract to his satisfaction and bank guarantees in place. We were supposed to paying €10000 more or less immediately and then nothing further until completion. We paid the €10000 but into our lawyers escrow account and then, guess what, he did it again! Antonio sold the Macarena house to someone else. We were told that we could have another one just down the road… At this point we decided that enough was enough.

 

Our lawyer paid us back the €10000 from his clients’ account but Antonio still has our original €23000. Our lawyer seems to have lost interest in taking Antonio to court. I have wondered, after reading some of the posts on Eye on Spain, if he has been threatened.

 

Since then we almost bought a house in Pinoso (Alicante) but withdrew from that when we discovered that nearly half the money was expected in a brown paper bag. We were not prepared to go down that route. Our current situation is that we are now having a house built and we hope to be in it by Christmas 2007 – but don’t hold your breath! My house has sold, at last, my partner’s house has just gone on the market and maybe, just maybe, it will be sold by the time our apartment in Hacienda Riquelme is ready so that we can live in it until our house is built. I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll ever get there!

 

I hope all you guys get your paperwork soon. Moving to Spain should be a dream come true, not a nightmare. If it ever comes to a situation where a group of you get together to prosecute Antonio, I'd like to be part of it.



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04 Jan 2007 8:22 AM by exile Star rating. 82 forum posts Send private message

Just remember we  have only ourselves to blame for being suckered into buying illegal houses. Talk of Legal Action is pointless, it would take years to get to Court with no guarantee of success. The Spanish despise us for being fools and will take us for a ride as long as they can.

Eventually we will get escrituras as Solera will want their remaining money but when remains to be seen. Murcia Council are at last taking an interest and yesterday Solera were trying to fix Telephone access and Tv cable wires. Unsuccessfuly in our case as the original piping could not be located. At least things are happening. Regards Exile



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05 Jan 2007 3:21 PM by saltay Star rating in Pinoso (Alicante) an.... 41 forum posts Send private message

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Thank you for your comments, Exile. I do know in my heart of hearts that we have to accept that our money is gone for good. It makes me sad though that you sound so bitter. There are good honest Spanish people around and I like to think they are in the majority. We were all just unlucky that we happened upon some bad eggs who managed to deceive not only purchasers but also some decent agents as well. Yes, there are even some of those! Good luck for the future. Hopefully it will all come out good for you in the end.


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06 Jan 2007 6:38 AM by exile Star rating. 82 forum posts Send private message

For Saltay. Actually I do not think our money has gone for ever! I believe we shall get escrituras because it must be in Solera`s interest to get them==they can get a lot more out of it when Murcia Council takes over. What I object to is the blatant lies we have been fed with for so long and continualy get from them as they go on selling houses to people who believe what they are told. Compare them with a company like Polaris and how they build their developments and you have a very different concept and quality

At the moment all our roads are being dug up again. Why because they have no idea of what they should have done in the first place Electric wires are strung about with no clear idea of what is happening and flats are built whch were never planned. Where it will end no-one knows but it will hopefully in my life-time



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06 Jan 2007 10:09 AM by saltay Star rating in Pinoso (Alicante) an.... 41 forum posts Send private message

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Sorry Exile, I didn't make myself clear. I only meant my money and that of my partner - not everyone else's - because we backed out. I'm sure everyone will get their escrituras in the end.


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06 Jan 2007 5:42 PM by Fruit Star rating in Costa Calidia - Murc.... 74 forum posts Send private message

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A reply to the coment made by Exile.....Not wishing to say that Solera/El Trampoline are better or worse than any of the other Spanish builders, but having spent New Years Eve at the club house on Polaris World, and spoken with people who have purchased with them it would appear that they are no worse.

The people we were speaking with had moved into their luxery appartment and had to use their bidet to wash in as the sink in the bathroom had fallen off the wall. Also they had to wait 3 days for someone to call round to look at the problem.

Having been to the club house for drinks prior to the New Year event, the urinals in the gents were out of order, and they had only managed to fix one of them by the evening of the event.

The site and properties are still being suplied by generators, and whilst everything looks nice at the moment what will it be like in a few years time? Yes everywhere has been landscaped nicely and I'm sure it will be kept nice....at a price.....and we certinatly not had to pay the price that the purchasers have paid to live on Polaris World.

Any Idea what the comunity charges will be like?


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07 Jan 2007 7:44 AM by exile Star rating. 82 forum posts Send private message

Have a look at your Compra/Venta Satay and see what was promised.

We managed to get our money back from another Developer who had not even started the house when it was supposed to be finished. Mind you it was finished less than a year later and the escritura issued. My C/V promised it within 2 years i.e.May next



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07 Jan 2007 7:54 AM by exile Star rating. 82 forum posts Send private message

p.s looks like a 3rd block of flats to be started  Maybe one each for the 3 Directors to fund their pensions[not to mention Ferraris] The flats must be leasehold you cannot get individual escrituras. They will therefore be let out not sold but the Company will say nothing



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07 Jan 2007 12:17 PM by jogary Star rating in UK. 193 forum posts Send private message

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Hi. Happy New Year to all posters!

Exile, Where is the third block of flats being built?

I was wondering how the first two blocks of apartments look now that they are nearing completion? Do they look better now they built?

How is progress with the commercial centre? Is it taking shape now? I wondered if anyone visiting over Christmas had any photos they could post?



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07 Jan 2007 1:16 PM by jogary Star rating in UK. 193 forum posts Send private message

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Hi again!

I was thinking about the comments on the Polaris World resorts. We have stayed at their Mar Menor Golf resort several times (because we can't stay in our villa) and each time we think to ourselves "we should have bought here instead"

However, I think that if we evetually do get our escritura we will be happier with our purchase. Polaris World resorts are not without their problems and there are many unhappy purchasers whose stories are highlighted on one of their forums. These include late delivery, broken promises, and building defects (damp in mmgr properties). When we last visited La Torre the gatehouse was closed because it had sunk into the ground(!) and there are reports on that forum that some properties are doing the same.

La Loma (just opposite our site) was on sale at the same time we bought our villa, and to date, there has been no development at all on that site. So they could be delivered several years late!

Also, for the same money as our villa, we would have only been able to purchase a small 2 bedroom apartment. Plus there would be quite large community fees each month (and as we're not golfers, we wouldn't benefit from the golf course on site). For a similar size villa on an equivalent plot, you could pay up to half a million euros on El Valle (which is 5 minutes from El Trampolin)

I think also that El Trampolin is in an excellent geographical position. It is literally surrouded by The Polaris World resorts, all of which are open to the public to use the dining, shopping, hotels and leisure facilities including their golf courses. So you can reap the benefits without paying the community fees. There is also Mosa which has a new commercial centre, bars and restaurants and several other new courses under construction only 5 minutes away.

I am not crticising Polaris Resorts and would have been very happy to have bought an apartment there. We might even be living in it now! But, if Trampolin deliver the goods, we would prefer to have a detached villa with our own pool. I suppose this is why we took a (big) risk and bought there in the first place! Everyone has their own priorities and no purchase is risk free.

I think I am just trying to be positive because it is a new year! Now that Christmas is over, I will ask my solicitor to contact the notary who is doing the escrituras and see if she thinks they will be ready for February as promised.

We are out again in February Half Term so I can get an update and I will take some photos to post on the forum. Maybe, we might all have our escrituras by then!!

 



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07 Jan 2007 6:01 PM by Cormona Star rating. 69 forum posts Send private message

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Well done Jogary the glass is half full not half empty,and hopfully February will be the month to put a lot of minds at rest it must be hard living down there are thought are with you all.

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28 May 2007 3:05 PM by Rachel70 Star rating. 1 forum posts Send private message




This message was last edited by Rachel70 on 5/28/2007.


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