I have just received this Email from Mark at the promoters who are working for the developer in Moratalla. It is not good news and you are advised not to proceed with your purchase see below.
I want to confirm the outcome of a meeting I had with the developer earlier today.
I was asked to attend a meeting this morning to be told that the terms of the current properties reserved had changed and that he was no longer prepared to honour the prices or terms previously agreed.
The ´new´ deal is as follows and will be confirmed by the developer when you contact them.
The pre release prices are now only valid with a guarantee from a non Bank of Spain recognized insurance company called Huggies Royal.
The next payment would now be due within 30 days, payable directly into the developers bank account before the granting of the final license. The developer would then have total access to the money with no restrictions on usage instead of the money being in a protected account as previously agreed.
The only protection being from the above mentioned insurance company which having made initial enquiries ourselves we do not believe would be acceptable to clients, agents or solicitors.
If the client wanted a bank guarantee they would have to pay an extra 40,000 Euros for the property. When I asked how this guarantee would be provided I was told not to worry about it.
I stated that this was unacceptable and that from today we would no longer work with the company in either the sales of the properties or the completion of the site pools and gardens which we had been contracted to complete.
As a result we have removed the English version of the website as well as the telephone line and we will no longer be involved in any aspect of this development.
Clients who have paid deposits to solicitors should, we think, request the return of the funds and buy elsewhere and clients who have paid monies directly to the developers bank account should also request the return of the money directly from the developer. I have been told there is no problem with the return of the monies in full should the client not wish to progress with the purchase.
As a side issue we are owed a considerable sum of monies from the developer for works undertaken on site and it would seem we will have to take legal action to recover the sum outstanding.
Obviously each client has to determine if they wish to continue with the purchase on the ´new´ terms but personally I can only advise against this as I believe the potential for problems in the future is far greater than if a recognized bank were providing the guarantee for clients money.
Over 30 properties had been reserved with deposits committed however the developer seems unconcerned at the loss of over 3 million Euros worth of revenue.
I can only apologize for this issue but it is completely out of my control and I had no indication from the developer until this morning of the changes highlighted above. I believe the terms stated above are completely unacceptable and unsafe for clients and do not wish to be associated with the developers current or future actions.
The developers full details are Progofer Calidad S.L. C/ Jose Doval 36, 3a Alcantarilla 30820 Murcia CIF:B 73494254
Directors names: Don Agustin Gonzalez Ferrer DNI: 48.427.406-D
Telephone number 686 413709 Daniel Lapeña Garro Sales Manager
Regards
Mark