Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)By Sara Wallace
ANOTHER 100 British homeowners are facing the imminent demolition of their homes.
Some 98 homes have been apparently singled out after an investigation in Almeria’s Almanzora valley launched in 2005 comes to a close.
The properties, almost all owned by Brits, were built without licences.
“It is feared that all these 98 homes will be demolished when formal charges are made,” said a spokesman for local pressure group AUAN (Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No).
She added: “The British community is distressed because of the uncertainty over legal proceedings.
“It is scandalous that things continue without a solution despite the promises offered.”
Nearby in Albox meanwhile, a further six houses have been added to the list of eight that have already been scheduled for demolition.
The British owners – who insist they bought in good faith and have been conned by developers – have joined the others, who got orders just before Christmas.
As the Olive Press reported at the time (issue 77), one of the owners Terry Haycock suffered a mini stroke and was temporarily blinded from the stress of it.
The news came as British MEP Marta Andreasen chose to compare Prime Minister Zapatero to President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
She said that her constituents wonder “who is running Spain” and feel akin to British subjects living in Zimbabwe.
Though Zapatero rejected the comparison, he has done nothing to help the homeowners so far.
It is likely that more cases will be exposed soon, with an estimated 300,000 illegal homes located in Andalucia alone.
This is all very sad,surely the developer should be liable .Why did they not have an independant lawyer? Of course they should never have been built .It would be interesting to know if any Spaniards are on the list for demolition
How many bets the developer and lawyer knew each other? Are all your properties ‘legal’, Mary?
get in touch with the mep in this story she is the only one who has the guts to voice her opinion all these developers lawyers and all involved should be sacked. and get a march planned not only the brits but spanish and all the other nationalities im begining to wonder who runs spain, you all have a voice and the spanish will support you as they are also having their homes demolished
everyone goes on about human rights these days, surely these
are human rights issues and cant beleive that something isnt
done about this blatant corruption. marching wont solve anything. spain has to be answerable as crimes by lawyers,
agents, etc etc have been commited.
Not only the English get caught….I saw at first hand how a Spanish family had ‘their’apartment, dismembered by literally breaking in from outside, and reclaiming part by part by building division walls, and squeezing them out eventually. I am talking about Marbella, and a group of four apartments on a sea front, A1 position, paid for with CASH. The builder and promoter did not pay the bank back, and the bank sold the property at auction. The entire block of apartments had the same treatment. Purchasers with mortgages, paid to the promoter, who did not pay off the bank, had to re-mortgage and lose what had already been paid for. I watched all the lying and cheating played out in what has to be the most corrupt towns on the earth. Needless to say I left Andalucia to stew with it’s twisted soul, after I had a premonition of my former headmaster disapproving that I was even there at all!!Funny how many times I have been asked to recommend an honest lawyer, especially as Spanish law seems to have been couched by them to serve themselves, and especially in Andalucia. ‘Enchufado’absolutely!!
I think that since the amount of homes is that hight perhaps they should just let them continue with their homes and just have them pay the license fees which were due at the beginning if their homes meet at least basic building standards.
This is a shocking example of the corruption in the Spanish Real Estate sector.
We are fighting against a similar type of corruption with regards to Bank Guarantees for Spanish Off Plan Property.
Read about our campaign and join our Petition at:
“www.bankguaranteesinspain.com”
You may also be interested in the website of the Finca Parcs Action Group – an action group of 63 purchasers currently taking legal action against the developer Cleyton GES SL and the funding bank of the development Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo (CAM Bank) for their failure to provide or verify the existence of Bank Guarantees as required by Spanish Law, in particular, LEY 57/68 Article 1.1 and 1.2
“www.fincaparcsactiongroup.com”
Kind regards
Keith
HOW BRAZEN CAN YOU GET!
BUILDERS AND DEVELOPERS charged with the demolition of the six above mentioned homes in Albox, while waiting the court verdict are advertising in the “EURO WEEKLY”.
Warning, PROYME INGENIEROS CONSULTORIA, S.L.,in Albox, Almeria are again advertising, claiming to be in a position to solve all your housing problems, legal or structural, promoting themselves as being closely associated with a number of town halls. Be warned they are even more closely associated with building and fraudulantly selling illegal,substandard properties and are at present waiting a verdict regarding their criminal activities.
Juan Jose Lozano Saez together with his father and the Albox based company Proyme Ingenieros, responsible for building and fraudulantly selling the six illegal villas mentioned in the above article, are now using the courts as an instrument to intimidate their elderly victims from complaining.
“How clever”, he clicks his fingers and his victims are in court within days, wondering what charge no time for a defence and robbed yet again. How does this work? it takes years to get these criminal builders to court, corruption and infuence, where does it end? For many, stress and an early grave.
I get very tired of hearing the same old thing of course the majority of people used independent solicitors etc but we still got stung.
In Chiclana where we live they say the problem has been resolved but at a cost, in our case 70,000 euro no chance but at least we have electric unlike some in our area and we came here for a quiet life!
Re: Remarks by Jethro.
Our independent lawyer even made a contract to the effect of the property being legal and fully documented. Our own independent lawyer duly in attendance at the Notary explains, that we get the deeds for the land and need to wait a little for the house deeds and goes on to explain, this is the way it is done in Almeria. (Our fate has been sealed, the scam accomplished)
Consequently the development of six homes was investigated by the police. The builders Juan Jose Lozano Saez and his promotor were charged, no building license or any documents to build, the verdict “no case to answer”, these properties are still illegal, the owners still under the threats of demolition. The builder Juan Jose Lozano Saez of Proyme Ingenieros is not finished yet; he has enough influence to press charges against his victims for complaining.
The lawyers responsible advertise to guarantee only to handle legal properties and assist with addressing the illegal.
The people at Proyme in Albox who built the illegal properties became the respected “Inspection Team” and advertise, amongst other services, “If you don’t have a house escritura, we can help (in 98% of cases)”.
Do the victims have cause to complain?
The message from the people at PROYME appears to be “shut up or we will have you in court”, where of course the victims pay the cost.
Interesting debate in the Andalucian Parliament. Here is what the Spanish really think of all the expats who came ane invested in Spain. This extract is from the Andalucian Parliament (Josefina Cruz, Consejera for Obras Públicas y Vivienda, in answer to a statement from the PP) regarding the 12,000 ‘illegal homes’ in the Almanzora Valley:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, you don’t understand. I think you do not know what you are defending. I do not know if you’re defending the intrusion of people and I do not know if you’re defending the interests of a group of people who are not of this country and who have settled here illegally; I do not know if you’re defending those interests, Your Honors. I do not understand, I really do not understand.
I have said on this occasion we have had meetings on the matter also with the British Ambassador, but I’m interested, I am concerned about the overall situation, and I’m not worried about a situation in part of a group of people who have settled illegally in our territory. I do not understand … I do not know if you’re defending the legality of this or what. I do not know what you are defending, I do not know from where you are coming and who you are.”
So there you go, people who came here, use a lawyer, used a notary, arranged mortgages, paid taxes and assisted the local economy and dealt with town halls are basically just “illegal settlers”. Of course, none of that is the fault of the town halls, lawyers and notaries who oversaw all of the purchase process.
Spain is in denial of its problems; they will never admit they have done even though the mayors are all under investigation and he Junta is embroiled in the largest corruption scam in Spain currently.
It sure sounds like our trusted Government Representative,
Josefina Cruz, Consejera for Obras Públicas y Vivienda…
does “NOT UNDERSTAND” the issues…. nor ever will. Amen
It is a tenant of English law that ignorance of it is no defence. ‘Not understand’ is ignorance by default…..thus this is not ‘a defense’. Worst still it is, at this level…. criminal.All who wish to live in Spain are condemned to face a legal system which only serves itself.
And so it rumbles on and on and on.
It seems the politicians only objective in the whole sorry saga of resolving the planning legality issue is to push it under the carpet and blame all but themselves and have unanimously decided that the only body that can sort it out is the judiciary. And we all know that speed is not exactly their strongest asset.
Anybody who thinks that a change to a Rajoy administration is going to resolve the issue is living in cuckoo land. One only has to look at what is currently taking place in the ‘free suits’ nonsense further north.
It’s a pity that ‘los indignados’ didn’t get a more popular and sustained support.
Until the European courts learn how to use their teeth I fear nothing is going to support the people (including our Spanish cousins, who form the majority) who are seeing their homes and lives destroyed.
With nearly five million unemployed, a good proportion from the construction sector and the consequent suicidal drain on state resources, you don’t need a degree in economics to see that the only way forward is for Zapatero/Rubalcaba to kick ass and draw a line under that which is and move forward.
En los sueños. Miembro de los PIIGS para siempre.