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This sad and upsetting story has been in the Daily Mail this week in the UK and also in one of our local newspapers as Mr & Mrs Prior come from the same area as us. It's a shocking story but one that I believe will be repeated over and over again everytime another law abiding persons home is demolished. It said in the paper that up to 1000 homes along the Andalucian coast including Costa Almeria, could be demolished if the Mayor and Chief Planner have given illegal planning permission. I have been told that anything that is built within 107 metres from the highest tide or is built on "green belt" will also be demolished regardless of when or who purchased the property in good faith, whether there is any truth in this I do not know but this is extremely worrying for anyone who has property in the region. Mr & Mrs Prior are now homeless having lost everything and it will take them years to receive any compensation. We all know that everything in Spain takes longer and the legal system is a very lengthy process and my heart goes out to Mr & Mrs Prior. I just hope the Spanish government can arrange compensation to be paid immediately and ensure the compensation is sufficient to cover everything including the stress and upset they have been caused through no fault of their own. I cant believe that this can happen, to just demolish someones home like that is cruel and unfair. We are about to take ownership of a resale property but now I am concerned and have asked my solicitor to check this out but how will she know if the Mayor and the Chief Planner were crooks!!! Very worrying 
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Hi all,
I have just come home from work and Gloria has told me about today's correspondance. Whilst I think that getting on to MEP's, Spanish Royalty and anyone else with influence is a great idea, I feel that there is only one way to deal with this and that's to start a fighting fund to take the matter to the European Courts of Human Rights and beyond to exert enough international financial / legal pressure to put a stop to this nationalised fraud once and for all.
I have always been of the opinion that Spain belongs to the Spanish and I am personally reluctant to interfere with their internal politics. However, we are aparently all Europeans now and if we don't act to stop the rot, what is to stop other "local politicians" from breaking their word just when they feel it expedient or they can make a few extra euro's for the Mayors retirement fund? The EU was aparently set up to provide equality among all the citizens of Europe and god knows, enough of our money has been poured into Spain over the last few years.
There are plenty of us and I am sure most can afford a modest few euro's, even if every Brit in Spain put in on average just one euro we would get a fund of 600,000 euro's, but who is to hold the pot? Would EOS be interested? This is a real crusade to test the mettle of any organisation. If we can get a banker I will offer to put in the first 100 euro's and maybe more later if needed. Let's stop just talking about it and get stuck in!
Mike & Gloria
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me too .... lets keep this going
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I have read on another forum website which is for the Almeria area & there is a meeting in Mojacar on Friday followed by a protest in Vera town centre on Saturday.
There are a couple of local action groups which may already have some sort of fund - I don't know. If anyone wants the details of the site please PM me as I don't think I can post the website address here - unless Justin tells me otherwise.
Noreen
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Mike and Gloria count me in!!!! willing to help in any way.
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Don't you just love life !!
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It's gratifying to see so many people commenting on this subject. Our place is not in the effected area, but who is to say what scam they will think of next to separate us from our honestly obtained property? Wherever we are in Spain we seem to be susceptable to devious changes in the law and unless we stick together we will get picked off individually. There are lots of means to make our views heard and the more of us that do it the better.
This week-end I will begin looking up the e-mail addresses of all the MP's and Ministers I can, along with MEP's and newspapers. if we can all look up and write to as many as we can find and put details on EOS for the rest of us to use we could get a massive protest going in no time.
Mike
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Mike
well done you. Some of us have already written to our MEP to protest, and had the standard reply ........'we can't get involved in another countries policies' ... . So not much help!! I feel you are on the right lines though, and as i am caught up in the middle of it. (6 years this june since we put our deposit down on an apartment 3 years late in building and half the contract size, that the developers are now denying all knowledge of us owning in a despicable attempt not to refund our deposit) and would love to know how we do something that will help force change for everyone who has been, and is currently (as in the subject of this thread) being treated in an inhuman and totally unacceptable way., and fast! There is quite a large petition being put together by 'Suzanne' on the other main site worth bothering with, which is a good start, but i feel we desperately need someone in a high position with passion and a real good knowledge on the subject to represent us? The other way perphaps is mass protest to offices of those who can make difference?
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Sorry to hear of your problems Goodstich. You are quite right when you say that we need someone in a prominent position to front the campaign.
Does Jason have any ideas? He did start this thread and was suggesting 'collective action'. That is surely the way to go.
The demolition in Vera seems to be the tip of the iceberg as many more places are reported to be under threat, including Catral on the CB and places on the CDS. (this was reported in the 'Daily Mail' this week but I obviously don't know the truth of it, does anyone out there?)
Gloria and Mike
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PS Does anyone know why our threads do not have 'Send private message' but 'edit this thread'!!!!!!!!!!
Gloria
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Glad to see that this thread is not going away. I totally agree with everyone that some action is needed here and now.
Noreen, please post the web address for the other forum, we need to make this a collective action.
Does anyone know how to contact the couple whose house was knocked down? I would really like to know all the exact facts of their case.
Janny, I know you are in a similar position in terms of having an illegal property. Please can you PM me with some details of your own circumstances?
I am talking to some contacts I have in the media to see if we can really drive this forward and make a change. Knocking down people's homes is not the way forward and no one should have to suffer such a fate due to the incompetencies and corruption of others.
Justin
P.S. Gloria, you cannot PM yourself! This message was last edited by EOS Team on 1/17/2008.
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Schools in Spain Guide | The Expat Files | Learn Spanish | Earn a living in Spain
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Hi XETOG,
Private message does not appear when you are not logged,matbe its that??
Catral has issues because it was built on Natural park!!!! i cannot keep track with the situation ther,one day it is fine the next day it is not.
The only advice i would give to anyone looking to buy in that area is DON'T!
The fighting fund seems a good idea,i would contribute.
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www.taylorlandandpropertygroup.co.uk
still here after all these years!
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Jason, How about trying the Daily Mail reporter Tom Worden who wrote the story about the Priors?
Don't want to pm myself but how would others pm ME.
Georgia, You may be right that I'm not always logged on!!!! Thanks.
Gloria
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I have just read a rather snooty reply about the demolition on the Daily Mail website. It's was from a Spaniard who says the we do not do our homework and should consult a free website (OFICINA VIRTUAL DEL CATASTRO) which would tell you if your plot was urban or rural. Non- urban development ALWAYS requires permission from the REGIONAL GOVERNMENT as well as local.
I've read books about buying in Spain but must have missed this.
I just wonder if anyone who may be affected lives in E.Sussex? If so maybe you could interest you local MP Norman Baker, who seems passionate about injustice.
Gloria
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Thanks Justin.
The website is www.viva-almeria.com
The situation has been discussed at length on various threads on the forum - Living in Almeria, Buying Property in Almeria, Moving to Almeria & Mojacar Area. They might take some trawling through to find the right information.
One contributor offered to set up a fund with a donation of €500 but I don't know if this has happened yet. Others are attending meetings tomorrow & attending protests in Vera on Saturday, which are being organised by a number of action groups in the area.
With regard to contacting politicians, bear in mind that the Spanish Prime Minister has a property in the Purto Rey area of Vera. Also Manuel Marin, President of Congress & Diego Lopez Garrido, the PSOE's spokesman in Congress also have property in Vera.
They may be a good starting point.
Noreen
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www.alandaluscarhire.com
www.vera-apartment.com
www.verathalassa.es
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What a result from just a few of us , lets hope with us all working together this problem can be sorted out. And as I tell the people in our area, dont just sit back it could be you next ........ there is so much going on in my head .... and it seems that we are all on the same wavelength I am just off to look at the vera website ... lets all keep in touch Hasta Luego...
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Just a thought ... if the oficina virtual de Castastro was available in 2002 and before .. WHY did our Solicitors and Estate Agents not use it , or the Notary ? What does that tell you ?  our being all of us in this illegal property situation .
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Janny, this is a good point regarding Notaries. Usually they will draw a Nota Simple of the property to be sold on or around the day of completion, in order to check there are no outstanding debts etc. Now, why are Notaries not ensuring that; License of first occupation and OFICINA VIRTUAL DEL CATASTRO confirmations (if required)are in place before the poor unsuspecting buyers begin to sign away their life-savings. Buyer beware obligations can be negated if the Notary and conveyancing solicitor work together on this collation of information prior to the completion date. There are no reasons why this cannot become the standard purchase process. Even if it adds several hundred Euro´s to the legal bill, i´m sure people like the Priors would be prepared to pay it for peace-of-mind.
What we need is a legal process with all checks and balances being the obligation of the Notary and Solicitor instead of shoddy estate agents or Ill and badly advised buyers. Not only would it be good news for the buyers, but, it would bring about new confidences in the Spanish Property Market and that, for me as a careful and cautious Estate Agent, would be a delightful and welcome change!
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