house sale gone wrong

soolin

timburrows said:

im afraid guys we did pay the deposit without seeing , no april fool here, we were assured by the estate agent the house was in perfect order, and we trusted we have all the messages from her, pushing us to sign and pay, and of course they have stopped all communication,

"sold as seen"

This bit is a red herring really - it can mean that you had an opportunity to see the property, not that you actually did. In the UK it wouldn't help the situation at all, but again it might be different under Spanish property law.

A lawyer fully conversant with Spanish property law can advise you as to your exact liability if you pull out, it might be just the deposit that is lost, but it might be that you have committed to a purchase - it really all depends on exactly what you signed- and a legal expert is going to be a necessity here.

Alderbank

the contract we signed before we physically went to see the house, said sold as seen ! we hadn't actually seen the house before signing, other than photos which were inaccurate, would this situation null and void the contract, which will enable us to get the deposit money back?

"sold as seen"... In the UK it wouldn't help the situation at all, but again it might be different under Spanish property law.

OP, do you mean cuerpo cierto which is a Spanish legal term often translated as ‘sold as seen’? 

If so it would not null and void the contract - it does the opposite. 

Normally in Spanish law if various aspects of the property turn out to be not as described the seller can claim a price reduction or even cancel the sale and get their deposit back when the facts come to light. However a contract cuerpo cierto means that the buyer has inspected (or had the opportunity to investigate) and accepts the property ‘warts and all’ (to use another English expression). 

The consequences of accepting a contract of this nature are that if after signing the contract , the buyer finds out that something is not as expected they cannot claim the dissolution of the sale. Nor can a price decrease be claimed.

The usual advice is to inspect a property extremely carefully including technical surveys if necessary before agreeing to a contract cuerpo cierto.

soolin

Alderbank said:

the contract we signed before we physically went to see the house, said sold as seen ! we hadn't actually seen the house before signing, other than photos which were inaccurate, would this situation null and void the contract, which will enable us to get the deposit money back?

"sold as seen"... In the UK it wouldn't help the situation at all, but again it might be different under Spanish property law.

OP, do you mean cuerpo cierto which is a Spanish legal term often translated as ‘sold as seen’? 

If so it would not null and void the contract - it does the opposite. 

Normally in Spanish law if various aspects of the property turn out to be not as described the seller can claim a price reduction or even cancel the sale and get their deposit back when the facts come to light. However a contract cuerpo cierto means that the buyer has inspected (or had the opportunity to investigate) and accepts the property ‘warts and all’ (to use another English expression). 

The consequences of accepting a contract of this nature are that if after signing the contract , the buyer finds out that something is not as expected they cannot claim the dissolution of the sale. Nor can a price decrease be claimed.

The usual advice is to inspect a property extremely carefully including technical surveys if necessary before agreeing to a contract cuerpo cierto.

That's interesting, It sounds like they use the term the same as in the UK. I don't buy property but I do buy at auction and if I see the term 'sold as seen' prominently added to a particular lot it usually means there is something that a particular buyer might want to pay attention to. It's not dodgy , just means buyer needs to be aware they need to take the opportunity to view and inspect thoroughly.

melb

we've all made mistakes somewhere along the way, some more costly than others.  There are quite a few Expat forums on Facebook and elsewhere, and you might be able to get some help on there as to how to proceed.  Good luck!

bris

melb said:

we've all made mistakes somewhere along the way, some more costly than others.  

Buying a house in Spain without going to see it is no ordinary mistake, it's madness.

Grumpy_chap

There's a lot in this thread that is unclear to the point of astonishment but, setting all that aside, does Spanish law require that there is legal advice taken as part of the property purchase process?  The equivalent of a Conveyancing Solicitor?  If so, the OP needs to put their questions and take the advice of that legal advisor.

Even if that legal advice is not an express requirement in Spain, I'm surprised that anyone familiar with UK property purchase process would go ahead on a property purchase abroad without thinking that suitable legal advice was necessary.

Although, the OP did not view the property and simply took the EAs word that it was lovely, so anything can happen.

user1977

Grumpy_chap said:

does Spanish law require that there is legal advice taken as part of the property purchase process?  

Not that I've heard of - but do you know of any jurisdictions where that is a requirement?

WhoopsIDidItAgainITrolledWithYourHeart

Grumpy_chap said:

There's a lot in this thread that is unclear to the point of astonishment but, setting all that aside, does Spanish law require that there is legal advice taken as part of the property purchase process?  The equivalent of a Conveyancing Solicitor?  If so, the OP needs to put their questions and take the advice of that legal advisor.

Even if that legal advice is not an express requirement in Spain, I'm surprised that anyone familiar with UK property purchase process would go ahead on a property purchase abroad without thinking that suitable legal advice was necessary.

Although, the OP did not view the property and simply took the EAs word that it was lovely, so anything can happen.

That's not a requirement in the UK so why would it be that way in Spain?

Grumpy_chap

WhoopsIDidItAgainITrolledWithYourHeart said:

Grumpy_chap said:

There's a lot in this thread that is unclear to the point of astonishment but, setting all that aside, does Spanish law require that there is legal advice taken as part of the property purchase process?  The equivalent of a Conveyancing Solicitor?  If so, the OP needs to put their questions and take the advice of that legal advisor.

Even if that legal advice is not an express requirement in Spain, I'm surprised that anyone familiar with UK property purchase process would go ahead on a property purchase abroad without thinking that suitable legal advice was necessary.

Although, the OP did not view the property and simply took the EAs word that it was lovely, so anything can happen.

That's not a requirement in the UK so why would it be that way in Spain?

OK - not a requirement if buying cash.

Either way, most people would engage legal services to just make it all smooth.  It is certainly the custom and practice.  Is it so in Spain?

sheramber

In what way was the house 'awful'?

What you saw may be acceptable to others.