Help needed re European Enforcement Order

Hi all

Can I ask politely that you refrain from passing judgment on our situation and if you can't help then please don’t reply.

I purchased a property on the Mar Menor Golf Resort, Polaris World in 2003.

I purchased this property with my parents and we are all on the deeds and the mortgage which is Caja Madrid.

We had no mortgages in the UK at the time and I was earning 65k a year. The loan to value was 63% even after a re mortgage as we invested as a family 75k in euro as a deposit

The property was intended to be a family dream come true to use and rent out to holiday makers to chip toward the mortgage.

Well lots went wrong and now we are in a right mess.

This is the situation

I lost my job due to health reasons and my parents are not earning much as they are at retirement age.

I am currently a non discharged bankrupt here in the UK. I have also had a property re possessed.

We have struggled to keep up payments on the villa but have failed even after releasing capital on my parent’s home in th UK

We are not trying to turn our back on our debts but we are a no asset family with the exception of my parents’ home. They are 66 and 71

I am fully aware that the bank is going to try and force us to sell the house in the UK which will leave them homeless.

Does anybody know who can support us through this?

I would contact your MP I did this over another matter this last year and got a hearing in the House of Lords it may not completely resolve the matter but making goverment aware of this formally cannot make it worse

Regards

Rod

thanks so much

I will do this straight away ...

I am also trying to contest the claim in Spain which will make the claim "contested" and therefor disqualify the case from being eligable for an EEO

Thanks again

Steve

 Good step. Always contest the repossession notices. Always.

The best way to contest it in your case is with a proposal for an agreed dation as payment proving your bankruptcy status in the UK.

Bangor

What is the outstanding mortgage on the property?

Are you already in arrears?

What do you think the current value of the property is?

Have any properties on the development sold recently?

Have you discussed situation with Spanish bank?

hi faro

Thanks for your reply but we are way down th road.   we have offered the property back but they wanted money on top ...

if we had money we would not be in this situation as we would pay the mortgage with it.  We are being put in the same box as some investors that just walked away from a bad investments.   Our villa was purchased as a family home / retreat.

My parents only went on the deeds for inheritance reasons .... because they insisted on being on the deeds they were forced on to the mortgage. 

The outstanding mortgage is 265000 and the valuation was 438000 when we took that out.   Now the property is worth around 250 to 270  ....  we have a solicitor who is in contact with the barrister working for Caja Madrid but they wont budge ... and i dont blame then to be honest .. they have 9000 proerties on the books from keys for debt swaps.

My only concern as i am bankcrupt is my parents home .....  we are worried sick ....  I am going to try and get help from anywhere i can

Steve

Has an official valuation been obtained from someone likes TINSA?

Sounds like you are a good case.

  Hiya

I dont know much about property , but while you are talking to the banks and lawyers. It might be a good idea to contact a couple of letting agency and see if you can rent the property out and as long as you get some rental income and paying the bank something  hopefully they will accept that and  its better than nothing, and see that you are trying. 

All the best . 

I help people in similar situations and the problem is rents are so low it still leaves the owner with a shortfall and there's other bills such as community and rates and taxes if you pay them!

But most peoples UK situation is they simply need to plug that hole and then the big headache is gone.

For some reason since January more seem to have accepted things are never going to get any better and people are now willing to walk away from every penny they have invested so they no longer have to juggle things back in UK to send money they have not got to Spain for a now totally devalued property.

Sometimes on CDS buyers can be found - so someone buys property today for EUR200k that was originally purchased for EUR350k but it depends on development/community whether there is a market. If the development/community is good then even today there is a price at which properties will sell.

But in Bangor's case there may not be a market but it's not an area I know much about.

Hi Bangor

Sorry to hear of your position.

Please as a matter of urgency contact Mr Guy Bailey of Reward Litigation Solicitors in Birmingham 0121 262 3784.

He is dealing with these issues and will be able to tell you exactly what to do.

Saint George

Vista hermosa makes a good point, if you can rent the property long term, and ask the bank for a period of interest only, that may help defer a repossession order!

The EEO is a big problem, however would they not need to go through the courts and reposes the property first?

In which case, from the start of the repossession order, you will probably have around a minimum of 12 - 18 months before the case goes before a judge and the bank is allowed to reposes the property. Here in this area of the Costa Del Sol, people are saying a repossession would take 2 or even 3 years, because of the amount of cases before the courts in Estepona.

And in the interim the Banks have to be made accountable themselves for their own malpractice relating to Bank Guarantees.

we did have a long term tenant ...... the bank were happy taking a reduced amount for a while but then a contact we made at the bank joined another bank. And they "stopped" being happy with the reduced payment and arrears built up over time.

It’s a long and complex story.

Thanks for all the points on here so far very helpful

Steve

Dear All,

The whole point of using the EEO in this way is that the Spanish banks DO NOT have to go anywhere near a Spanish court first!!!! (as in the case reported on in the Mail on Sunday)

The banks DO NOT have to mitigate their losses first by taking possession of the property in Spain, unlike in the UK!

Please be aware that a number of Spanish banks are now seeking to make use of this process.  Being encouraged by the Spanish authorities and lawyers in the UK!

The case that was reported on has now been made absolute, with the UK judge commentating that they were appalled by it, however powerless to halt it.

It is very imortant that people act now to secure their assets.

Saint George.

Dear All,

The whole point of using the EEO in this way is that the Spanish banks DO NOT have to go anywhere near a Spanish court first!!!! (as in the case reported on in the Mail on Sunday)

The banks DO NOT have to mitigate their losses first by taking possession of the property in Spain, unlike in the UK!

Please be aware that a number of Spanish banks are now seeking to make use of this process.  Being encouraged by the Spanish authorities and lawyers in the UK!

The case that was reported on has now been made absolute, with the UK judge commentating that they were appalled by it, however powerless to halt it.

It is very imortant that people act now to secure their assets.

Saint George.

 If the Bank is trying to repossess out of a mortgage debt on a property in Spain, OF COURSE, it needs to go to the Spanish procedure first, just if the deffendant does not attend the legal notice for repossession, the Bank can obtain the EEO to try yo enforce it in the UK.

Best,

Maria

This is the whole point Maria.

The banks ARE NOT seeking to take back the Spanish property first. They now DO NOT have to, unlike in the UK.

The EEO can be used, and HAS BEEN, without having to go anywhere near a Spanish court.

Can your parents put the property in another´s name, one they trust,  and have a separate legal contract giving them permanent right to stay there,  and a will leaving the property to whomever they want to leave it to?

 Saint George,

if that is done by the Bank, you can contest the issuing and the enforcing of the EEO as null and void.

Rights to defence is one of the most important rights of our Constitution and every State of Law and it has of course been fully covered when crearting the EEO.

Maybe you can take a view on these links:

http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/costaluz/4600/legal-tip-404-basics-on-the-european-enforcement-order.aspx

http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/costaluz/4967/legal-tip-449-important-points-on-the-european-enforcement-order-not-to-panick.aspx

Have always a good lawyer by your side, these are not complicated things but have their procedural tricks to pay attention to.

Cheers,

Maria