Pursuing a refund

I joined this site some time ago on behalf of my father-in-law who was purchasing in Phase 4 (Block 1 I think). 

On his last visit at the end of June, he made the decision that he no longer wanted the property primarily due to the general state of the area (rubbish strewn everywhere, burned out car, general disrepair, lack of a golf course etc), but also due to the fact that the apartment is now 2.5 years overdue.  He has started legal action via Lawyers of Spain to recover his initial deposit.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone else currently trying to recoup monies from the Construction company to compare notes etc.

Thanks,

Mike

 Hi Mike,

The licences for Blocks 1/2/3 were released around January 2008 blocks 4/5 around September 2008 and the remaining blocks in  January 2009 if your Father in law only decided in June 2009 to not complete I'm not sure how easy this is going to be.The courts seem to be taking the sides of the developers at the moment.What are the solicitors saying to you?

Hi Neutral,

Thanks for your reply. 

First of all the lawyer has requested a one-off fee of 6000 Euros that will cover all costs (I have asked my Father-in-law to check that this is what is seems or will there be more costs at a later date).  The lawyer has also asked that he provides all the documents he received when he paid the deposit i.e. what the apartment will contain, plus also what would be built on the complex e.g swimming pools, tennis courts, club house etc. 

After reading the comments on these pages regarding the licences I have advised him to look into this before taking the matter further.  He is aware that the licence has been issued, although he has not seen a copy (although I do not know if you would anyway). 

Mike

 Hi Mike,

It might be worth throwing your question on the general forums as there are a few solicitors(members) who offer good advice on these type of questions.

Thanks Neutral - will do.

Mike

 Hi Mike,

The only point at which an owner receives copies of the licences relating to the building work is on completion.

If Lawyers of Spain were your father's original lawyers then they should have copies of all his paperwork in his files. The only reason I can think of for this not being the case is that last year ,Lawyers of Spain, who were also our lawyers, split into two seperate companies, following an argument between the directors.

If I were your father and wished to pursue the return of my deposit I would consider using another law firm which did not have such close links wityh the developer. Irwin Mitchell, the British Law firm, has branches on the Costa del Sol and retains Spanish property lawyers to deal with such issues.

Jenny and Ken

Hi Mike,

If you are still undecided on whether to seek a refund, send me a PM and I can advise you my experience, including the legal minefield.  I recently received a full refund plus legal interest on a Phase 4 apartment.  However this involved taking legal action against Prienesur.  Dealing with Prienesur for the past 3 years was not a pleasant experience.

Patrick

I'm another who is seeking a refund, any advice, tips, do's and don'ts would be gratefully received.  I've sent you a PM Patrick too, any other info is desperately needed!

thanks

Mike

Hi all

i have just come across eye on spain, and we to are going through court in pursue of a refund, we had a hearing last year and now have a court appreance in summer 2010.

patrick - i am send a PM if ok to see how far you had to go.

many thanks and great news you received a refund.

It's been a long road

Gareth

Hi To All,

                I have just read breifly on Arenal Golf web site that there may be some activity on the construction of the golf course,can anyone shed any light on whats happening,etc

Adrian

 Hi Samste

This I can't wait to see (recommencement of works on the 'golf course').

I'd love to see it back to the condition it was even 3 years ago when we had great expectations.  

If what we read is true, the developers are at last taking notice.  One thing's for sure, they'll sell nothing as it stands.  There's something about the banner 'Arenal Golf' that implies 'golfness'.  The way it's been the last few years they should have changed the name to 'Arenal Wasteland' because that's the way the place has been allowed to drift.  Of course, I recognise the outside factors that have contributed to this, I'm no mug.  But when you look at how promising the development was 3 years ago, it is sickening.  I feel for the renters on the latter phases, seeing photo's of the golf course, 'as was', and then arriving with their suitcases to a reconstructed wasteland (should have rented on phase 1 - plug, plug!).

But ultimately, there is much to be salvaged.  3 years ago the course looked extremely interesting.  OK, so it wasn't a proper golf course but a good 18 hole par 3 in the making.  Some holes looked extremely interesting, namely the 2nd hole that had a very nasty ravine awaiting the topped tee shot.   Then there was the driving range and I'm sure not many on here have actually seen it in its glory.  I had the fortune of doing so.  It actually had a very nice putting green to the rear and a nice frontal, driving down towards the railway lines.  Not sure where the hell it all went wrong, including the water courses and features on the latter phases, but one thing's for sure.  THE FUNDAMENTALS ARE STILL THERE.  Just a bit of TLC required.

My advice to the developers is this:

• Get the club house open, complete with stock and bar, so that you can a) sell things and b) manage the golf enquiries from a central point
• Get the course complete so that it a) brings in an income, b) shows life on the complex and c) shows prospective buyers what they could actually be a part of.  If I was buying a 'golf' apartment I'd expect to see some golf being played!
• In doing so, stop the wave of cancellations and disgruntled customers
• Give the die-hards like me some assurance that all is well in Arenal Golf so that we dont' sell on, thereby adding to the problem

Onwards and upwards (hopefully) :D

good to hear from you,as always you are correct ,like you i had the the chance to see arenal golf course looking good,and yes were did it all go wrong,there is someone on phase 3 who has a web site advertising there apartment for rent with loads of fantastic photos of arenal golf,i wouldnt like to arrive and see the place as it is now,so very depressing,but i hope things progress.

Take care

Great news everyone - the greens are being brought back up to spec.  Also the tropical garden is being finished off and the foundations for the courts look like they will be started soon. 

Hi Pamela,

                    Thanks for your post,this realy does sound possitive,and i look forward to continued progress on AG over the coming months,

Thankyou

Me too.

Thanks for the update Pamela

 I was out in Arenal Golf phase 4 last week staying in our apartment and as Pamela has said the work on the golf course has commenced they have removed the top layer of sod from all the greens on phase 4 and are preparing them for re-seeding.If they apply the same level of workmanship/care to the remaining parts of the golf course as they have applied to the greens we might get the course back to the same condition it was in about 3/4 years ago but only time will tell but at the moment it looks promising.No work yet on the clubhouse but if the course is brought back up to scratch I'm sure its only a matter of time before the clubhouse is finished as well.

The tropical gardens are still being worked on and what looks like space for 2 paddle/tennis courts has been flattened and hardcore rock ready to be laid as a base.Where phase 5 is located on the proposed hotel site what looks like large drainage pipes are ready to or already have been installed and more landscaping is taking place at the top of phase 4 towards the Xanit Hospital.

Between the Xanit and the school more site/earth clearance work is ongoing and from what I could see they may be planning something being build as the amount of earth being removed was quite substantial.

At the moment its all positive news and I hope it keeps going that way but we've all had many false starts on the facilities before so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the time being.  

Pamela and Attico,

                                 Many thanks for your continued updates on AG they are greatly appreciated,unfortunately i cannot get over for the next few months and so as stated above many thanks,i am starting get good vibes.....

samste

 Encouraging news indeed.

I hope they get the clubhouse finished, complete with bar and the driving range opened.  It would have to be good to compete with nearby Benalmadena Golf as that place is a bit special, but something for the community would suffice.  Anything that brings life to the complex!

Step in the right direction though.

We are also persuing a refund, had a court hearing last year, with a date  for  a full hearing in June 2010, would appreciate if others who are trying to get refunds, can let us know how there case is going, there looks like a few people have already received their refunds , which hopefully has set a prescedent for others.