22 Dec 2014 11:30 AM:
Thank you, acer, for your constructive comments. Whilst we agree that the builder was the main culprit in this sorry saga, we find it impossible to accept that the Town Hall played no part in creating the problems. Had they not granted a licence to build our house on 2000m2 when the builder had already built a house on this very same 2000m2 plot 2 years earlier, there would have be no illegal house for us to buy.
When we bought off plan, we were assured by our then solicitor that the builder had the correct licences to build and yes, we did complete without a Habitation Certificate because we were assured by all concerned at the Notary that where they were dealing with an urbanisation, it was the standard practice of the particular Town Hall involved to issue these Certificates en bloc once the urbanisation was totally finished. We were fairly relaxed about this given that we had previously had a house built on the coast and in that case, we also completed without a Habitation Licence, the document arriving a few months later without problem. The law, even just a few years back, was not as stringent as it is now and Notaries/lawyers were certainly more relaxed about paperwork.
What we want to say in response to the postings by starfox and floella is that it was never our intention to try and fob our illegal property off on anyone. When we first attempted to sell we were still awaiting the Habitation Licence and this fact was disclosed to all interested parties. The situation, as had been put to us at the Notary, was explained to the buyers and their solicitors. With the law having been tightened up considerably over the past couple of years, the buyers, not unreasonably, decided not to proceed in the absence of the certificate.
We immediately set about trying to get things put right. Having sought the help of an independent architect, we spent a considerable amount of time and money in attending meetings with the Town Hall planners in an attempt to find a solution which would enable us to sell on with honesty and total security for any buyer. Finally after 7 long years of trying, and after incurring yet more expense for legal help, we finally obtained the Second Occupation Licence which the Town Hall insist is all that is needed to be able to sell on with total security for a buyer. We thought, naively it now seems, that the the FdeO (Outside of Management) classification was merely confirmation that no action could be taken against us or the property in respect of the planning irregularities due to the passage of time. Believing that the matter had been put in order, we had no hesitation in providing a copy of the Escritura, Occupation Licence and the accompanying FdeO letter to the most recent buyer’s solicitors.
Acer, with regard to the ‘no mortgage’ comments made by the solicitor, the buyer explained that the solicitor had said that because the FdeO meant we could do nothing to the building except minimal maintenance, the building would over time deteriorate to the extent that it would eventually fall down and therefore no bank would accept it as security for a loan. We were not in any way attempting to blame the buyers solicitors for doing their job, we were just taken aback at their total condemnation of the property and were simply asking whether they were just being ultra cautious or whether we could expect all solicitors to respond in a like manner. We posed the question because over the past couple of years houses on this urbanisation have changed hands, with at least 2 having been bought with the aid of a mortgage.
We also asked the question as to whether anyone had been successful in having this classification removed as, far from being the villains portrayed by starfox and floella, we will be prepared to expend more time and money if it will ensure that any future buyer is 100% secure in his purchase.
Stupid we may have been in our purchase of this property but dishonest we are not where the sale is concerned.
Thread:
Buyer withdraws due to Fuera de Ordenación classification
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