Latest Advice for Clients Claiming Lost Deposits from Bankrupt Property Developers

Online, September 29, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Many Spanish holiday home dreams are turning to nightmares as developers go to the wall unable to finance their debts. Some 170,000 companies in the construction sector, 23% of the total, went bust in 2008 and 2009, the majority of them (64%) doing so in 2009. The devastation is set to continue for the foreseeable future. So where does that leave the buyers who've paid deposits to those bankrupt Spanish developers and have no home to show for it?

Daren Wallbank, Director of innovative company www.ReclaimYourDeposit.com, has spent recent months looking into dozens of these cases and has this advice to offer, "The good news is that it is a legal requirement in Spain to provide a bank guarantee or an insurance bond to protect client monies in the event that the property is not constructed in line with the contract. Many buyers will therefore be able to contact their lawyer and reclaim their deposit on this basis. The bad news is that we've discovered many cases where this guarantee has not been provided and it's not yet clear who in general is ultimately responsible for this failure - the bank, lawyer or developer. We therefore recommend clients take action against their original lawyer for failing to ensure that legal requirement was in place at the time of transferring funds."

Although Spain has this legal protection (albeit not watertight) many other countries, especially those outside of the EU such as Turkey, do not offer the same level of bank guarantees or insurance policies. In this case, clients are limited to the assets of the bankrupt developer from which to make their claim and these are often insufficient to cover their liabilities.

Daren continues, "One interesting solution could be an investigation into the activities of this developer to see if a criminal case against the directors is possible. Logic would suggest that all the deposit monies paid must have gone somewhere. If the developer is part of a group then it may also be possible to sue the related companies who still have assets. Similarly, if a bank mortgage exists on the property, although this will give the bank priority over the developer's assets before property purchasers can stake their claim, it may give potential to claim against the bank. In order for www.ReclaimYourDeposit.com to look into either option, clients must have contracts signed by all parties and a notary, without a notary signature the legal contract is weak."

No Win No Fee Spain:
ReclaimYourDeposit.com has recently launched a 'No Win No Fee' service unique to Spain. Providing clients can conform to four simple criteria - have in their possession the original private purchase and reservation contracts, have the bank guarantee or insurance bond certificate, have proof of payments and finally a contract that has expired without the property reaching completion - ReclaimYourDeposit.com will take on their case and try to recover a disastrous situation.

To discuss your personal scenario visit www.ReclaimYourDeposit.com, email [email protected] or join our FaceBook Group "Reclaim Your Deposit".

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for further press information or photography please contact Sarah Drane
on [email protected] or call 00 34 607 564 726