Spanish Property

sjcrompo

Hi

Not sure if this is the right place to post but here goes.

A couple of years ago I went to the "A Place in the Sun" property exhibition in Birmingham. I got talking to this particular company that introduced me to what seemed a great deal.

I was told that should I buy the mortgage would be paid by the developer for 2 years and that after that point the mortgage would be interest only, plus I was assured that the rental income would cover the mortgage payment. I was advised to get a POA in Spain that would sign the deal on my behalf to save me going backwards and forwards to Spain.

I decided to go ahead and after a few fraught months I was the owner of an apartment in Alicante. Fast forward a few months. I suddenly got an email saying that I was in arrears on my mortgage after 14 months, which I found odd as the deal I was lead to believe the POA was signing on my behalf was 2 years.

Basically it turns out that the POA has signed on my behalf a contract that was nothing like the contract I was lead to believe of the agent in the UK, and as a result I now have to find a mortgage payment that I can barely afford. I've tried contacting the agent and I am now being blanked. He still trades and still doesn't have any negative reviews that I can find. Maybe I was the unlucky one.

My question is does anyone know if there is any legal way I can pursue the agent in the UK as he has directly put me in a situation that had he told me the true facts before anything was signed, I would not have signed in the first place.

Thanks

eddddy

It sounds like you've been shafted by everyone.

I think your grievance should be with the person you gave POA to. They signed a contract on your behalf, which you did not want them to sign.

Was the person with the POA a friend/relative?

... Or somebody working with/for the developer who would be looking after the developer's interests, and not yours?

If the person with POA acted against your instructions/agreement, and/or did something beyond the scope of the POA, you might have grounds to persue that person.

I guess you may not have taken independent legal advice at the time.

G_M

Your grievance is either with

* yourself, for not giving specific enough instructions to your POA as to what he should check & sign on your behalf, or

* your POA for not carrying out your instructions

Who was the POA?

sjcrompo

Hi

The POA was one that I was advised to use by the English agent. As far as I was lead to believe from my agent, she was signing what I was advised and not what it ended up being.

I've had a lawyer look at it in Spain and as far as the law goes everything over there was above board. It's the English agent that told me several things that turned out not to be true.

Trouble is I'm now stuck with the mortgage and I can't find a legal angle to pursue the English agent.

Thanks

G_M

I'm afraid that you are responsible.

You foolishly appointed a POA to act on your behalf. That is a huge responsibility to pass to a stranger!

Kind of like stopping a stranger in the street, giving them your credit card, and PIN, and asking them to buy you pair of jeans and post them to you!

If you did that, and they went on a shopping spree with your card, the credit card/bank would be unlikely to be sympathetic or refund the bills.

I'm afraid you will need to re-assess your finances.
* you own a property worth £X
* you have an outstanding mortgage worth £Y
* you have monthly mortgage payments of £Z
* you have savings/investments or £A
* you have available monthly disposable income of £B

What is the best course of action?

edit:
Have you got a copy of the POA? What is the exact wording of the authority you granted them? You might be able to claim against them for acting beyond your authority, but if it simply instructs them to buy a property in Spain for you, you can hardly blame them if the terms of that purchase don't satisfy you.

sjcrompo

I fully understand what you are saying. However like a say I was following the advice of the agent and it's he that I have the grievance with for not telling me the truth. Had he told me the truth I would not have gone ahead in the first place.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

G_M

The agent's job was to persuade you to buy. He did a good job!

Your job was to read / check carefully the terms of the purchase being offered, and make sure you were happy with both those terms and the price.

The POA's job was to.... do whatever you instructed him to do. Though since I suspect he was paid by the agent (???) he may have had a conflict of interest.

eddddy

Is the agent a member of AIPP (Association of International Property Professionals) by any chance?

If so, you could try complaining to them...

AIPP members are also subscribed to the independent and specialist The Property Ombudsman service. Members of the public can, at no cost to themselves, make a complaint about an AIPP member which, if upheld by The Property Ombudsman, could lead to an award of compensation being made to the complainant of up to £25,000 – such an award being payable by the AIPP member.

See:
http://www.aipp.org.uk/
http://www.aipp.org.uk/industry/code-of-conduct/

sjcrompo

Thanks for the help, but un fortunately they are not.

eddddy

It's hard to think of anything positive to say.

I suspect your next piece of bad news will come when you try to sell it - and find it is worth much less than you've been led to believe.

Just so you know the full picture, maybe you should contact a few estate agents in Alicante to get valuations.

If paying the mortgage is likely to be a challenge, it might be good to know what exit options you have.

csgohan4

if it's too good to be true, it likely is, hope it works out for your op


Wish my mortgage was paid for 2 years by the developer