HI everyone,
I am yet another member of the 30% club there at Jardines.
By what I am reading here it seems there is a complete lack of information as to the whole issue.
I had been trying to get some sense out of my agents and solicitors for months and finally decided to go to Spain and find out for myself what is going on rather than go by rumours.
After personally speaking to the Town Hall of Benissa, local solicitors, architects and other professionals, I now know what the facts are:
I was shown various properties on the Costa Blanca by an English Agent. The project at Jardines de Montemar was blown out to be the absolute Jewel in the Crown. It was presented as a sure fire investment promising a return of 100% on the invested sum. And to reassure me everyone involved in the sale pointed out that the developer was a rock solid British company: Rushcliffe International. Their website claimed the company to have assets in Spain worth over 300 Miliion Pounds.
I was then taken to an impressive solicitors office where I signed powers of attorney for them to represent my interests in the purchase of the property.
Baloney.
It seems the whole project Jardines de Montemar was a con from the start. We have been led to buy something that was flawed from the beginning.
The company Jardines de Montemar s.l. was created with practically nothing to its name. The company did not even have the money to purchase the site. The building has been financed entirely by the banks. The builder is a prominent Spanish building company that would only build if payments were guaranteed by the bank. Therefore the complete project was mortgaged to guarantee payment to the bank. As there have only been around 30 sales and the developer has been bankrupt from the beginning, as soon as money from sales stopped coming in, the developer defaulted on payments to the bank and the bank is now calling in that debt. The procedure is simple: the complex is auctioned off and the proceeds go to the bank to cover the debt. There is never any money left over as interest rates on overdrafts are astronomical, plus court proceedings costs, solicitors, etc. Those who have actually completed and signed the deeds to their property should make sure that it has been duly registered on their name at the Land Registry and that the mortgage debt with the bank has been cancelled, unless they have taken it over themselves.
However, there is a lot more. There are now other creditors claiming payment for the work they have carried out at the complex. As far as I know, the kitchens, jakuzzis, gardens, etc. have been installed by other companies that have not received their money. They have now got together and have filed a suit against Jardines.
The project itself is not what it was made out to be. The site at Jardines has always been zoned as commercial, not residential. In other words you cannot just build residential apartments and sell them as such. The project Jardines de Montemar received planning permission as "Apartamentos Turisticos", which is a form of Apartment -Hotel. The developers seem to have tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the local authorities time and again until at one time the Town Hall of Benissa actually issued a demolition order for the complex! I was obviously never told any of this, although it received extensive coverage in the Spanish local press.
The complex is illegal and it seems that is one of the reasons why there is no electricity contract as there is no residential license and yet no commercial hotel activity. The electric power is the builder's connection and it is about to be turned off.
There is even more: it seems the agents selling for Rushcliffe were being paid commissions of 15%. Not only that, the solicitors presented to me were in fact working for Rushcliffe's. The contracts that were signed in my name should never have been approved by my solicitor.
Spanish Law makes it obligatory for the developer to grant the purchaser a bank guarantee on all payments. I was never given such a bank guarantee. Instead I received a dubious insurance policy with small writing that effectively renders it useless as the period of validity has run out. This was approved by my solicitor.
I feel I have been conned not only by Rushcliffe, but also by my agent and by my solicitor in whom I had placed my trust.
I am now at a loss as I have 100.000 Euros blocked at Jardines de Montemar. My present solicitor is being very honest and has informed me I can cancel the contract with Rushcliffe and claim my money back due to breach of contract, but it will be to no avail as the company is bankrupt. Whatever money there was, the managers have taken it and run. Soon the property will be auctioned off and then I shall have noone to claim from.
On the other hand, I do not wish to close the sale and hand over another 200.000 Euros for a site that is illegal and will probably become another derelict abandoned complex.
The future does not seem rosy for Jardines de Montemar.
Chump