11 Jan 2008 12:00 AM:

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MASA ...unrepentant after illegally selling house twice

A British man is involved in a legal battle with Spanish property developer, MASA, after the company broke into his father’s property and sold his house to a new owner for a fraction of the value of the house - while his father was still alive.
The British man, who for legal reasons we shall call Mr B, is the executor of his father’s estate and only learned that his father owned a property in Spain in 2005, while his father was alive and residing in the UK. The Torrevieja property was bought by his father in 1984, and was lived in until the gentleman became too ill to remain in Spain and had to return to England in the mid 1990s. It was in 2005 when he asked his son to fly to Spain to check up on the property,and the son became suspicious when he found he could not open the property with his father’s keys. Mr B soon learned that MASA had sold his father’s home to a Spanish lady for just 18.000 euros, afraction of the total value of the property. He also learned that all of his father’s possessions had been removed from the property and destroyed by MASA, who had broken into the house to gain access to it. Mr B is said to believe the stress caused by learning that MASA had sold his home caused his father’s condition to deteriorate more rapidly, leading to his death in September 2006.
The case was brought to my attention by Torrevieja solicitor, Oscar Ricor, ( Ricor Abogados), who is representing Mr B in his legal battle against MASA. Mr Ricor told me: “This gentleman did not have deeds to the property in his name, however, we have the purchase contract and receipts stating he paid the builder directly. The house was legally his, and therefore it is legally his son’s, who has been appointed to administer the estate, according to the “Grant of Letter of Administration” issued by the High Court of Birmingham.”
It would appear MASA are using every trick in the book to excuse themselves of any wrong-doing in this case, including questioning the authenticity of the official English Court decision.
MASA have also said they believe the property was abandoned, and therefore they had a right to sell it again. Mr Ricor said: “MASA, which was the initial Vending Company of the property, could not have been “ignorant” of the fact that Mr B’s father had acquired the property by a private sale agreement and therefore he was the legitimate owner. The onus was on MASA- as Development reliable company- to warn the owner about the status of the property, and advise him of the different manners to rectify any possible anomaly as set out by Spanish law, either through the Notary or through the courts. They should never have kept quiet and waited. This spurious conduct puts paid to the presumption of good faith, as MASA made no attempt whatsoever to contact the owner or his family.”
Despite a heap of evidence pointing to serious wrong-doing by MASA,the constructor is unrepentant and their refusal to put right what they have done has led Mr B to instruct Oscar Ricor to issue a court summons. Mr Ricor said: “MASA are blaming my client’s deceased father for not visiting the property more often, but here we have a situation where a very ill man could not fly to Spain to check his property. Add to that the breaking-in and entering of the property, and destruction of personal belongings, and we have a criminal case.” Mr Ricor has obtained written confirmation from a British doctor that Mr B’s father could not fly, adding more weight to the case against the constructor. He is also highly suspicious about the re-sale amount of just 18,000 euros, representing a fraction of the real value of the house at the time.
He said: “The fact that the property was acquired in 2005 at the price of €18,000, an amount that is appreciably less than the market price of the property at the time, arouses deep suspicion and would be reason to presume bad faith and to construe indicatively that there was a meeting of minds between the vendor and the purchaser in the interest of dispossessing Mr B’s father of his property, taking advantage of his absence from Spain.”
Like so many cases I have heard about, it would seem theconstructor is relying on the client being unable to afford to take them to court. But MASA picked on the wrong people, and Mr B and his family are determined to have their day in court, with a great economical and personal sacrifice. Mr Ricor told me: “Builders know the court system is slow. Currently some courts are experiencing long delays in processing “denuncias”, because apparently they are overburdened with an increasing number of cases they have before them.
“When an economy is based entirely on the construction industry, many builders feel they are able to do just about anything they want to do.
The laws are there, and they are good laws, but it is up to the authorities to apply the rule of law. It’s not such a difficult thing for builders to fulfill obligations, but they have become so greedy and nothing has happened to them for so many years, they think they can continue to get away with abuse of their customers.”
Mr Ricor is concerned about older people moving to Spain and thinking of buying a property here. He said: “There are still well known constructors out there who are issuing abusive contracts that are advantageous to themselves and detrimental to the customer. When a customer signs an abusive contract, it makes fighting the case much more difficult. It is a daily battle just to get a judge to accept the case for a hearing, and I have to be realistic with my clients and try to strike a balance. I know people don’t have money, and very often they’ve already lost huge amounts of money as a result of the actions of a constructor.”
He concluded: “It is a sad fact that the majority of all the problem cases I am dealing with are customers who have bought their properties through British owned or British run estate agents. People should get to know who these companies are and who the abusive constructors are, and avoid them. Insist on choosing your own independent solicitor and notary carefully, and always remember there is a well-connected network out there.”
Mr B’s case was presented at the court in Torrevieja on 26 November 2007, representing the first stage in what could become a lengthy battle.
However, the family have set up a website and are hoping to hear from others who have experienced problems with MASA.
Ironically, their website address is www.grupo-masa.co.uk.

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