buying off-plan abroad - cancel contract

TTMCMschine

avicola wrote: »

after that, we have to look at action against the estate agent who we feel have been potentially negligent in their dealings with.

they actually told us we didnt need legal advice as there was no chance they would not be sold before completion. which was true as it stood at the time.
what we should have been told is that it was imperitive we took out legal advice,
additonally, we should have taken out insurance against this happening and
thirdly, they should have made sure they had a disclaimer.

I know we are to blame at the end of it, so honestly i know that.

I'm gobsmacked that any amateur (which you clearly are) would even contemplate buying 7 properties to speculate with.

I'm even more gobsmacked that you listened to the people who you were buying from when they told you that you "didn't need to bother checking the contracts."

That is just pure stupidity, the contract could have said absolutely anything.

With regards to your points above:

Firstly its your word against theirs that this really happened, & at the end of the day it was up to you to take legal advise, not for them to force you to - which they clearly can't.

Re insurance, ditto - up to you, not them.

Disclaimer - would that have stopped you? I don't think so, they'd have told you to ignore it & you would have.

Good luck sorting it out, but you've made yourself a very uncomfortable bed to lay in.

heathcote123

Whats happened to these 'massive penalties' for not completing on time?

Surely you would have been chasing these if you thought there was some money in it?

dopester

avicola wrote: »

Theoretically, they have been for sale since the day we bought them. They have been for sale in earnest for a year now with the sales manager and his team of 7 'doing everything they can.'

< Engages the bad-side of my mind >

If I was a developer in Spain / Tenerife and some mug punter ponied-up the deposit money for 7 apartments it would be a nice earner.

Anyone buying 7 at a time with deposits for each, I sell the units on again without telling you, give you some sob story they weren't selling, knowing you as a buyer would be unlikely to complete on all 7.

You'd be locked in to 7 properties with deposits you wouldn't be able to afford to complete on, thus making you the bad guy, and allowing me to keep your deposit and perhaps pursue you for the rest.

clutton_2

""after that, we have to look at action against the estate agent who we feel have been potentially negligent in their dealings with.

they actually told us we didnt need legal advice""

i cannot but agree with dlots here - did you not have your sensible h ead on when agreeing to buying 7 - with no legal advice ?? would you buy 1 propety in the UK without legal advice ?

i know its no good crying over spilt milk here - so, i'm glad to see that you are trying to sort things out as best you can - but - just forget trying to blame the EA for negligent advice - you will waste your time, your energy, your money and your life - this bad decision was yours and yours alone - just get out anyway you can - go bankupt if you have to - and dont bother suing anyone - you will never win.

best of luck

clutton_2

why is your partner posting exactly the same story on this forum

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=961631&page=2

""When my mother died, she left me some money which i wanted to invest, hoping that it would take me through my retirement and that i could do my kids proud eventually.

I decided to invest off-plan in Tenerife and put a deposit of £35,000 down on each of 5 apartments which I felt were a good buy. My partner put a similar deposit down on another 2.

This was all done on the basis of selling them on before completion as there was certainly no way that we could afford the full asking price.

The estate agent assured us that there would be no problem in selling them.

That was September 2005. Since then the property market has gone right down, the apartments havent sold and now we are being asked for the full amount as completion is in 4 weeks.

We cant even take them on with a mortgage as we couldnt afford the 8,000 euros per month for them.

It seems the contractor may buy them back from us, but he would retain 50% of the money.

I am desperate to know what to do.

The agency is extremely reputable, but i feel that their employee has been less than honest as he has repeatedly told us that they will sell, not to worry and the completion date is ages off yet. (which is simply untrue and he has now - suddenly - left the company).

The contract was in Spanish and we trusted them comletely that it was OK to sign it. Nobody told us what would happen if we ended up still owning the apartments at completion and we were always told that wouldnt happen.

Does anyone know if the contract is legal? Maybe there is some way out there.

Or can anyone think of any way out of this noose.

I fully accept that we have been stupid and greedy but please do give me any suggestions that might be useful. ""

dopester

Where did the deposits actually go to?

I'm not going to do lots of research for you, and don't even know if the stuff below applies to you (as it seems more just for property selling and not offplan stuff), and maybe Tenerife has it's own local system anyway. All the perils of buying 7 properties abroad eh.

You And The Spanish Law

Is it advisable to include a damages clause in the event of breach of contract ? Yes, in this clause must be included the sum to be payable.

Where should I transfer money for deposit ? The earnest money deposit should be placed in a bonded or blocked account which is inaccessible except for the recorded purpose of the deposit . At that point it is no longer the buyer's money it belongs jointly to the buyer and seller.

What kind of earnest money could I choose ? Two classes. First one helps protect each party if either backs out of the transaction (the buyer loses the deposit; the seller returns double the deposit). The second type avoid pulls out.
Is it valid a contract signed by the vendor’s estate agent and the seller ? Yes but only if he has a notarial power of attorney otherwise is void

Where I have to pay the deposit ? Never directly to the vendor, it is advisable into a blocked “Bonded Client Account"

dellbouy

avicola wrote: »

...

Basically we bought at just the wrong time.

Not as far as everyone else is concerned. You took part in a high-risk pyramid scheme and the buck stopped on you. If they had been completed in time and you had managed to sell them on before the marked bombed, it would have been at more than £165 and you would have put some other mug's finances in jeopardy.

However, if you can get out of the contract or even get away with losing the deposit, then the developer will still be sitting with a big problem. And they deserve to suffer more than anyone for defacing virtually any piece of land that is not vigorously defended.

ruggedtoast

I dont think the vitriol aimed at the OP is fair, they didnt come here to have a piece torn off, they came for advice; and the people aiming brick bats at them seem very bitter about their own circumstances.

Yes it was a catastrophically bad investment, however there is a saying that those who never made a mistake never made anything. Its how you react to defeat, learn from it, and what you do next that identifies your character.

Theres absolutely nothing you can do about the past OP, learn from it, get past it, get some proper advice, dont let it ruin your life. It is after all, only money.

Super_Ted_2

I would think this thread was a wind up if I hadnt only the other day been offered the "opportunity" share the purchase of an Italian off plan appartment by a normaly inteligent friend, the best thing was we didnt need to see it as she was assured it would rise in value before it was even built. Thankfully I took Bessie down the road and exchanged her for some magic beans instead, a much, much safer investment.
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Thats the problem with greed, it does bad things to people. Specificaly it makes them blind to what after the fact seems well...blindingly obvious.
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You couldnt tell you were in a piramid scheme, and if you did you thought there would be someone even more stupid than you prepared to buy off you at a later date and a higher price for no added value.
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Even if you didnt know it you were participating in survivor investing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigger_fool_theory
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Turns out there were no greater fools left.
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ST

avicola

Lakey wrote: »

I hope it won't be long before all this will be behind you and you can look back and thank goodness you kept your health.
Stay healthy and remember its only money.:money:

You are so right, and if we did loose the money in the end, at least we are healthy enough to start again. It is just our brains we need to get checked out.