hi tom,
Yes we did get a bank guarantee. The matter has now been put with Maria de castro who writes on this forum and who specialises in contract law.
Yes the contract with peinsa states the completion date. Maria has now informed Peinsa by legally irrefutable means that we wish to cancel the contract. In line with Peinsa's usual practice they have so far to my knowledge ignored the letter.
We actually paid 40% plus 2000 euros initially and this in November 2005.
Legally and by statutary law in Spain the developer should give the bank guarantee at the time of signing the contract. The guarantee should guarantee all the monies paid and interest payable if the property is not completed by the date stated. Our guarantee did not mention interest or the initial 2000 euros paid. It was not given at the time of signing the contract and took many weeks of badgering our lawyers to get it .
Because it did not include all the monies paid plus interest Peinsa in fact acted illegally and could be sued for 25% of the property value . We will get back at least the 40% that is guaranteed. We shall have to see if Peinsa act honourably and pay us back quickly all that is owed.
It would behove anyone buying in Spain to familiarise themselves with the Spanish law. By and large from my own experience and that of many other I am afraid that lawyers acting for you in your purchase can not be relied upon to look after your interests for you. At the time we bought we employed a very well known local lawyer . They did not inform us that the bank guarantee was lacking in any way.