ITV Homes From Hell - 9 August 2011

I was just watching this program on Catch Up on ITV and although I have more questions that answers, I still think that the Spanish government should be made to watch these programs!

OK, so the couple who bought the log home bought it knowing it didn't have a licence.  But some of the (totally innocent) others, particularly the case of Len and Helen Prior, shows that the system in Spain still has a long way to go before people feel remotely safe buying in Spain again.

I personally know hundreds of people who have lost huge amounts of money in Spain, life savings, hard earned money, and it's all gone into other people's pockets never to be seen again.

And with a justice system that takes an eternity to process cases and doesn't always function as it should, where is the good feeling for buying in Spain going to come from?

However, my main (raw) feeling from the program is where were the lawyers?  The couple who bought two apartments on the "Palmeras" development, why did their lawyer let them complete when it wasn't finished?  Why did the lawyer let that couple buy a log home on illegal land??

Surely it's the lawyers in many of these cases that have truly let the side down.  Surely if they had done their work properly, work they were being paid to do, then many of these cases would never have happened?

Maybe I am just looking at this in too simplistic a way.

Did you watch the program?  What were your thoughts?

Justin

My satellelite is down at the moment and the complex will only let me have a spanish engineer come and fix it.
So its been about a month and i am still waiting for the lazy waster.

But why did the lawyers let them down?
Commision.

They got their money and they dont care.
Lawyers in america have a parasistic image of ambulance chasing yet we dont seem to give them that image yet.

Just look through this forum properly and when someone posts a legal question.
If its just a question and a lawyer has nothing to gain from answering it the question often gets ignored.

If the question is about recovering money and the multiple lawyers on here will be on the thread like a cheap whore on a marbella millionare looking for their commission/fee or cut

Lawyers are not independent advisors in spain and dont seem to be regulated at all.
They seem like pretty parasitic business people.

I think - maybe I am wrong - that there is only one lawyer on here.  Maria, I notice, always answers questions and has a blog too.

Oh sure,  there are a few "amateurs" on here, but I don't see any others who declare themselves to actually be lawyers.  Maybe they are awfully shy and don't want to say who they are!!

No I didn't see the programme.

Patricia

there are many more than just the `official` one maria

Well, Willy, I do so look forward to "meeting" them.   One wonders at such coyness LOL.

Patricia

Bigwilly, so your complex will only allow a Spaniard to fix your aerial.

Do the racial prejudice laws not apply in Spain??

Surely, if you know of someone of another race, creed or culture, that does a good, reasonably priced job, you should be able to recommend them to your President??

Hi Campana,

FARO also appears to have extensive knowledge of the Spanish administrative & judicial system. His expertise is certainly impressive.

No idea if he is a Gestoria etc - nor is it appropriate to ask.

Cheers,

Jon

Its not that simple Pilgrim.

The administation will only allow this certain spanish guy to do it and he tried to charge us 350 euros last time just to put a wire into the house for the box.

We waited 3 weeks for him to come and he used the shortest bit of wire and it took him about 5 minites.

When he asked for the 350 euros i gave him 30 euros and threw him out of the house.

So its not just they only allow the spanish guy but i think i am blacklisted as well.

I had origionally tried to get the keys from the administration to do it myself but they wouldnt allow it.
So i tried to get a an ex UK sky installer to come and do it for the standard next day call out and 60euros charge but they wouldnt allow him and will only allow this certain guy.

I checked it because i assumed he had just cut the wire but there is still a circuit and its all as it shoudl be but the dish needs adjusting.

I am sorry Bigwilly but the Administration is there because they were appointed by the Community, or should have been.

Unless of course you were outvoted by superior numbers of Spanish members.

I am no expert but my wife agreed to be President of our Community, for the first year of its existence. Many and varied were the problems but she (WE) soon learned the ropes and attempted, with considerable success, to get the various doubtfull elements that existed changed!

It was not without hassle, these things never are, indignation, bluffing, guffawing, etc., etc., but it can be done. We also had moral support from many frieds and that was a great help!

I just find it hard to accept that you must use someone that you, for whatever reason, are not satified with??

I wonder how much that one act of pulling down The Priors villa and subsequent publicity cost the Spanish building industry.

I saw this programme too , the people who have lost everything have my greatest sympathy. I agree that the Spanish government should be made to see this. Perhaps it should be shown as an in-flight movie on flights into Spain , that would put buyers off !

The lawyers who acted for these people certainly have a lot to answer for. The corruption in Spain is a huge problem and people will continue to fall victim to it.

I just wish programmes such as 'Place in the Sun' were more informative about what really goes on when buying abroad rather than promoting a wonderful lifestyle with cheap property. These programmes have done a lot to encourage people to buy abroad but sadly it is only through experience that people find out how badly things can go wrong.

in our community we have to put up with a lazy , uselless  Spanish mainenance  man. who is paid over 25 thousand euros a year !! we even had to pay someone  to supervise him on some jobs as he is not capable of doing them !!  but our President informs us we cannot  sack him even for poor work,  because he has a contract , and could take us to court and we would have to pay him  up 9 thousand  euros compensation !! 

when we brought , the lawyer being paid to work for us , failed to inform us the penhouse 2 bed  apartment we were buying was for "turistic " use only , and that the mezinine floor with master bedroom and ensuite , was ilegal !!! , and not on the deeds , therefore the apartment is larger than it shoud be,  as are all the penthouse apartments in the building , so the price we  all paid was well over the  value even back then, !  we have no chance of selling even at 1/2  price with this problem  .   and to rub more salt in , we have to pay higher community fees than everyone else  for having a larger aparments !!   I aggree with Bigwilly Lawyers in Spain are totally unregulated ,  why are there  no "no win no fee" lawyers in Spain ?  because they will  only work  if you are paying  them a large fee up front ! they dont care if you win or loose,  they are not working for you , only for  themselves !. often hand in hand with the agent ........ BEWARE !!...Spain is as bent as a five bob note  and full of crooks .  

Getting back to the 'Homes from Hell Programme' and away from the aeriel. When I saw the programme I wanted to email them straight away, but I thought it might be a good idea if everyone who signed the petitions of Keith and others could email the programme all in the same week and bombard them with our cases.  We have won our case in court, won the right to access the developers bank account to get our money back and are now waiting at the mercy of the bank who say 'no' they have first call on the money as the developer has borrowed from them.

Has anyone else found themselves in a similar situation with the Banks? They say we might get it back in July 2012 but no guarantees.

Does anyone else like the idea of emailing the 'Homes from Hell' programme on one particular date.  Can you image 1130 emails about HOMES FROM HELL or in most cases NO HOMES FROM ANYWHERE??????????????

I saw the program and must say that when watching did find myself feeling sorry for several couples that appeared on it;

The couple that had been stiffed by the developer for extra money even though they hadnt asked for any extra work, the couple whos home was demolished through no fault of theirs at all, and the couple who bought the log cabin. The problem is for all these cases there is then the case of the couple in who bought two apartments near Marbella and then were still prepared to meet the original sales director and let him try and sell them another property... they must be glutens for punishment....Agree in must cases the lawyers need to answer some very dificult questions!

What I found ironic was friends whom I have spoke with today that know we have a place in Spain all quick to tell me all the people they have spoken to at work about the programme and all of them would never buy a place in spain......they wouldnt off anyway but it just shows how the rumour treadmill works...bad news travels fast.

The other point was the couple whos house was demolished whom i really feel for but after years and several court rulings do now look like they may get some compo....the first thing they then asked was would there be any for the emotional stress etc.....now watch the lawyers offering help....

And on top of all of this ITV used some of my footage of the protest march in Almeria in the program....but not so much as a mention!

Just a little "Thanks to EOS" would have been nice.

Maybe Zapatero will thank me for it after he's watched it

Justin

I suppose in the scheme of things, it probably won´t make much difference, but I always make a point of avoiding 902 phone numbers.

I think it stinks that a 902 number is given, if you wish to make enquiries about something.

These Spaniards have got to learn that you must speculate, to accumulate!! Long gone are the days when money appeared to grow on trees for them!!

I want to see 900 numbers for enquiries and most everything else that involves a service or product for sale.

 Justin

I believe that would be breach of copywrite under UK law so they should owe you some money

This piece is from a site called culturespain.com

"there are seven factors that you should check before agreeing to engage a Spanish lawyer:

1.       Recommendation is best! Ask a number of people around your local area (or your intended local area) to see if there is a consensus about who is a good lawyer locally.  Check the Internet and see if there are any obvious and objective complaints or good comments about any local lawyers.

2.       Meet your lawyer in person. Have a meeting with any lawyer who you may wish to employ – do you get on with him/ her – does he/she speak your language fluently?  Does he/she have proper office premises and are they organized and tidy.  Does your lawyer come across as professional and knowledgeable?  Does your lawyer listen to you and understand what you want.

3.       Insurance liability. Ask to see the insurance liability policy of your Spanish lawyer – some insurance policies in Spain for lawyers have very low cover and will not protect you against major problems.  So, always make sure that you lawyer is properly registered and insured.

4.       Expertise. Find out the specialism of your lawyer.  Spanish law, like that of any country, is far too extensive and complicated for any lawyer to do everything effectively.  So, be wary of a lawyer in Spain (or anywhere in the world!) or claims to be an expert at everything.  If you need a conveyancing lawyer then use a conveyancing lawyer who specializes in conveyancing or if you need a litigation lawyer then use one who specializes in litigation etc.

5.       Advice in writing. Will your lawyer in Spain place all of his/her advice into writing?  If not then go to another lawyer!  Putting advice into writing concentrates every lawyer’s minds and makes them both more careful and conscientious

6.       Charges. Charges are difficult calculate for a lawyer as many matters can develop complexities that are difficult to impossible to predict.  But make sure that your lawyer gives you indicative charges for the overall work you require and that you know beforehand what his hourly rate is and that this is provided to you in writing.

7.       Independence. Make sure that your lawyer in Spain is independent of any other party connected with your particular matter. Indeed, never allow any conflict of interest.  Ensure that your lawyer knows this and that you will consider it a breach of contract between you and him/her should this ever turn out to be the case.

8.       Agreement. Place any agreement between you and your Spanish lawyer in writing and get this acknowledged by your lawyer before any work commences.

Follow the above and you should get a good lawyer able to service your requirements effectively.

Always get a lawyer as soon as possible.  One of the biggest problems that I encounter is that clients do not turn to a lawyer soon enough and tend to find one only when problems have already started.  ‘Prevention’, as you say in English, ‘is better than cure’ and many problems can be resolved or prevented altogether – by seeing a lawyer well before a matter has any chance of becoming contentious.

Written by Carolina Just Miró

Could someone please place a link to this ITV programme ?

Many thanks,

Jon

 I would just like to say how amazing the Priors were in that  programme.  They really are to be admired in how they have conducted themselves with such dignity - I hope they do get full compensation in time to rebuild their lives.  I still don't really understand why they were singled out for demolition, when there are so many illegal bills around Vera.