A SERIES of damning emails from a legal firm to its clients prove that its lawyers knew their house was illegal from the beginning.
Clients Jackie and Peter Chilvers told last issue how they were fined 23,000 euros for building a home in Tolox, which they only later discovered had a licence as ‘a toolshed’, or almacen.
They criticised their legal advisors, insisting that they had been working hand in hand with the developer and never explained the legal pitfalls.
“We were never told it was a warehouse or we couldn’t officially live there,” said Jackie Chilvers.
“We thought we were buying a proper home and we got a lawyer to do the paperwork.”
Yet, when the Olive Press confronted the large legal firm – which has offices around Andalucia and even in the UK – a senior partner insisted the company had warned the Chilvers all along that the property would never be legal. But despite promising to provide us with copies of the emails, nothing has been forthcoming.
Instead, a stream of emails supplied by the Chilvers seem to tell a different story.
These show that the lawyers were only too aware that the Chilvers were building an illegal house without a licence, but tried to smooth things over.
It was only once the house was nearly finished that they alluded to its illegality and the cost to have it legalised.
Sadly, this type of practice is all too common.
Excerpts of damning emails sent from the legal firm to the Chilvers in early 2004
Email one
“We will carry out all the necessary searches and investigations to ensure that the property you are purchasing is legally in order, and in the best conditions to purchase, so that you can be sure that your money is well invested.”
Email two
“We know that you have agreed with Grupo P3 to build a house on that plot. Therefore, once you become the legal owner of the plot it would be necessary to sign a construction work contract with the builders.”
Email three
“The builder has already applied for the building licence for the construction of the dwelling. The town hall is supposed to give the response next week.”
Email four
“We would like to take this opportunity to forward an estimate of the costs involved in the new building declaration in order to legalise your house once the construction is completely finished.”
Spanish lawyers and judges are often under-educated and under-qualified compared to UK standards and if that is not enough they suffer dreadfully from being dishonest, incompetent and stupid.
So, what are you trying to say Gwilym? lol
If you cannot surmise from that you need help.
i have friends who have been waiting for five years to have their home legalised in mijas and never get any answers so i agree with gwilym.
I know a law firm that makes it up as it goes along.
These firms are dinosaurs, left over from the days of the wild west, they wont get away with it for ever.
I equally know a couple of good law firms too.
One rotten apple etc.
If these people used an international law firm with offices in the UK then that law firm (if it had practicing english solicitors) should be carrying GBP2m min in professional indemnity insurance. Claiming under a UK PI policy is easy and that is why buyers should always use solicitors regulated by the law society of england & wales carrying practising certificates. Regardless of any jurisdiction a claim for negligence can be made in the UK – so just find out if any solicitor was of E&W and then start the claim.
Hi Jackie & Peter.
So sorry to read of your problem.
I am a little suspicious of my Spanish/English Lawyer and wonder if it could be the same company as yours.
Would you be kind enough to email me the name of the legal firm in question my email address is Mcsebbor@hotmail.com
Thank you
We deal with situations like this everyday. It’s infuriating.
Lots of people get stuck with translations of things that end up leaving them in a massive mess.
It’s a horrible thing to trust someone and find that it’s not what you thought it was…