Repayment of Deposits

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?

Dear Tapdancer,

Although we normally recommend a deal, I must say we have two clients who choose to do a deal with their developer ion order to cancel their respective contracts and be paid back their deposits, and when the time came to cash the cheques, they founf out the company had gone bankrupt, and we are now defending them in the bankruptcy process.

** EDITED - Please respect terms of posting **

Kind regards

Hi

We have been trying to withdraw from a purchase that was also due in September 2006, which has been delayed by the lack of habitation certificate - this eventually came thorugh in Feb this year at the same time as our starting court proceedings as the developer refused to enter into dicussions.  In the intervening period we have knowledge that the building licence on the complex has been revoked and we are still unable to complete - the buider still refuses to refund our money, even at our request of losing 25% of the deposit, which was in the contract if we withdrew before completion date.

It appears we have to take the very expensive court route.

We feel very abondoned, our legal representative give very little feedback, everything we find out about happens in Spain is through our own research - it just seems everyone is in it together!

SM