If you need an independent Spanish Lawyer go to Maria de Castro and her excellent team

Maria de Castro was recommended to us by eyeonspain.com where she has been praised many times for her helpful and professional advice and services.  We had bought off-plan in the Costa Almeria area but discovered that the developer was in breach of contract and we felt that our original lawyers could, or would, not help us cancel our contract. We contacted Maria and found her to be very professional, but with a personal touch.  She certainly knows Spanish Consumer Law extremely well and was able to negotiate the return of our deposit within a reasonably short space of time.  If anyone finds themselves needing a totally independent Spanish lawyer, look no further than Maria and her excellent team.

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Great news Mgw

Maria certainly knows her stuff. She is always so helpful to members. Thank you Maria for all the great info and advice you are always willing to give.

P.S.

My sister lives in douglas. IOM is beautiful.

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Thank you two.

We actually do all that is in our hands and specially enjoy by returning hope and confidence to distressed buyers.

Thanks Gill!!

Maria

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Hi Maria

Have just posted to you on running community thread. Should  have posted in here.

Also thanks Gill for the pm, yes it is a very small world

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we are having trouble with our pruchase on the Costa Blanca South and have tried to contact Maria, however, have not received a reply - wonder if we got the email address wrong?

How did you manage to make contact?

Bill and Eveline

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Try marialuisa@costaluzlawyers.es   or    mldecastro@costaluzlawyers.es

Thanks,

Maria

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Maria

we have sent you an e mail to the mldecastro@costaluzlawyers.es address - just for information in case you do not receive again

Bill Marshall

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Received.
Best wishes,
Maria

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We have cancelled our private purchase contract for an off-plan property on an urbanisation due to delay and lack of a bank guarantee. Completion should have been September 2006.

We are looking for advice regarding a proposal just recently made by the developers` lawyer ; to repay our deposit along with legal interest in x12 monthly installments, guaranteed by a mortgage that the developer will take out on one of their properties.

In order not to have to go through the Courts we feel inclined to agree to this offer. Has anybody come across this type of arrangement before? And what,  if any, could be the problems?

 

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Better that than a litigation but with a good cancellation agreed and signed by both parties.
COngratulations!
Maria

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I have recently heard of a case where a couple agreed to monthly instalments paid by the developer . After 6 months he reneged on it! I do not know how the deal was set up. If the developer reneged on his mortgage payments then presumably you would not get your money.  The contract would need to be watertight.

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Yes, there is a risk but less than having a litigation ahead, you have got a document ( the cancellation contract) enforceable in Courts where they acknowledge a debt before you. Therefore, yes... what is essential and non. negotiable is to sign a protective cancellation agreement where you can even include the guarantees ( estates, policies, titles...)  to have an executive title against them for the case of payment default.

For example: contract cancellation with promissory notes.
                         contract cancellation with mortgage on a property
                         contract cancellation with insurance policy

Best regards,

Maria

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You are a gem Maria!

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Thank you for your responses and especially Marias`. We will endeavour to make sure that we include the terms as suggested. Once again, many thanks.

 

 

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we paid a deposit of £20,000 on an offplan (Mar y Golf)  appartment in a development.that the builder promised would be built by December 2006. This is already 14 months late and is a breach of contract by the developer.

Where do we stand legally? If this is the case and they are in breach of contract and would we be entitled to get a refund?

could we claim interest on the money and ask for compensation.

If we have to take them to court how much would it cost us and how long would it take?

Your help will be gratefully appreciated.

 

Gerry.

 

 

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Delays are always a breach of contract unless they are justified ( by matter of force majeure) and an extension is allowed by the consumer. That was stated in a Law passed in 1968 in Spain and reinforced by the General Building act of 1999. For that reason, this same law made obligatory for off plan buildings of houses, the issuing of a Bank Guarantee or an Insurance Policy  to make your funds ( and legal interests) refundable just by the direct execution of this instrument.

This law has been very shrotly respected by developers in Spain and very few consumers have been offered freely ( as mandatory by law) a Bank Guarantee or an Insurance for that.

Some of them have been asked to pay for it, which is of course illegal. Some of them have been issued with temporal limits on the enforceability of them, which is illegal and therefore null and void. Whatever the paper says, this document are, by Law enforceable till the issuing of the First Occupation license.

Some banks/ insurance companies present "non based in law: illegal" excuses for the direct honouring of these instruments: an executive  judicial procedure is needed in these cases with nothing to be gained by them ( banks or insurers) but the impossition of delay interests and legal costs. But they still play the game.

Seriousness and strength, positive and assertive legal request are needed  in the out of courts stage and if not success, judicial  executive claims.

Needless to say these abuses need to be reported to the correspondent regional  Consumers authorities for the correspondent penalties and warnings.

I am very confident that new a and safer times for  buying property in Spain are coming out of all this mess, but we need to act for the  infringed rights  for that.

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Dear friends,

Not always an agreement to reverse the contract will be a good idea.

We are currently defending two different clients who decided to cancel their contracts due to delay on handing over of the houses. Both against the same developer: "Inmobiliaria Amuerga".

In both cases the agreement was to pay back the net amount (nothing about interest!) and the gave our clients a promissory note (also called "delayed cheque") for 6 months time.

Unfortunately, our clients signed off thinking they were better off with a cheque than with a contract, and when the 6 months went by, they recently found out the developer has gone bankrupt and now they have to take part in a bankruptcy process.

It is true that it is better to have a cheque (even a delayed cheque) than a contract, but it is very important to, at least, make sure thay are not too far away!

Kind regards,

 

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Abolex: With all my due respects:

So.... you think is better to have a lenghty and uncertain declarative judicial  process ahead than a executive title which can produce an executive judicial procedure? Which already correspond to a decission in your favour? I cannot understand.

What I can understand is that before a clear and already produced situation of bankruptcy by developer,  it is better to complete than to risk to have the possibilities of refunding of the full amount clearly compromised.

I would like to know what you think of this.

Best weekend,

Maria

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Dear Maria,

Maybe i did not explain myself.

Developers gain time and take off their backs those clients by giving them a post dated cheque or promissory note for a few months time.

Normally people that do not live in the area, so normally they go back to their homes and do not know really if anything is happening to the developer they bought from or the development where they bought.

When they come back to Spain to bank the cheque they find out the developer is bankrupt, and they have missed their first (and best) opportunity to get paid.

I say this because I have several clients in this exact situation with the bankruptcy of "Inmobiliaria Amuerga", based in El Puerto deSanta Maria (Cadiz).

I find many Spanish lawyers who are not familiar with litigation just dry their chances by trying to do a deal when all they are doing is giving time to the developer to declare bankruptcy and, therefore, make their position weaker.

Just a second opinion.

Kind regards,

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An executive title against a developer is always more advisable than a declarative process  regardless the bankruptcies fears mainly because it is an acknowledgment of debt.

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