Auction stopped in the nick of time
Bosque dDel Lomas III
IT STARTED in March with an article in RTN and after weeks of legal wrangling, the residents of Bosque del Lomas III in Orihuela Costa found out last week that the auction which was due to take place yesterday (Thursday) has been cancelled.
RTN’s article featured Iwan and Gill Williams who had bought their dream home in the sun and paid for it in full only to have it re-mortgaged by rogue building firm Tecnologia Urbanistica S.L. Their house, along with 15 others on the community, all paid for in full, were due to be auctioned by CAM bank, whom the builder had remortgaged the properties with.
VICTIMS
As soon as RTN’s article was published, more homeowners came forward to say that they were in the same situation. CPC Holdings, who had read RTN’s article contacted them all and instructed their Spanish solicitors, Agüera y Arrebola, to fight for the group, which by that stage amounted to more than 20 Tecnologia ‘victims’.
The pattern of each purchase was almost identical; all had used Atlas International as agents and Aroca Seiquer as solicitors on the recommendation of Atlas.
It was only when the deeds of the house failed to materialise that the homeowners realised that there may be a problem with their ‘dream house in the sun’.
VICTORY
The cancellation of the auction is a very positive step and one that has come as a direct result of all the hard work by the legal team representing the homeowners. Nikki Crozier from CPC Holdings told RTN: “I cannot express in words how delighted we are at the recent victory in the courts for our clients. It is a testament to their combined fighting spirit that they trusted us to win this case for them. No-one can imagine the horror of finding out that the property you purchased was in the process of been sold and you were to be thrown on the streets.” She added: “In less than three months our Spanish Barristers, Tomas Agüera and Jose Manuel Arrebola, have succeeded in suspending the auction indefinitely.”
FIGHT
But that is only one bank which has been stopped from repossessing and selling on these people’s houses. There are three other banks which have vested interests in Tecnologia houses all over the southern Costa Blanca. So, the fight is by no means over and soon criminal charges will be brought against the rogue builder in an attempt to not get the money back, because that is long gone, but to get some justice for the years of stress and upset that his selfish, greedy, and frankly fraudulent actions have caused these poor people. Nikki concluded: “Our clients can now live in peace whilst we file claims with the liquidator, criminal claims, obtain escrituras and regularise the development itself.”
Stewart and Lynda Forrester
RTN’s article featured Iwan and Gill Williams who had bought their dream home in the sun and paid for it in full only to have it re-mortgaged by rogue building firm Tecnologia Urbanistica S.L. Their house, along with 15 others on the community, all paid for in full, were due to be auctioned by CAM bank, whom the builder had remortgaged the properties with.
VICTIMS
As soon as RTN’s article was published, more homeowners came forward to say that they were in the same situation. CPC Holdings, who had read RTN’s article contacted them all and instructed their Spanish solicitors, Agüera y Arrebola, to fight for the group, which by that stage amounted to more than 20 Tecnologia ‘victims’.
The pattern of each purchase was almost identical; all had used Atlas International as agents and Aroca Seiquer as solicitors on the recommendation of Atlas.
It was only when the deeds of the house failed to materialise that the homeowners realised that there may be a problem with their ‘dream house in the sun’.
VICTORY
The cancellation of the auction is a very positive step and one that has come as a direct result of all the hard work by the legal team representing the homeowners. Nikki Crozier from CPC Holdings told RTN: “I cannot express in words how delighted we are at the recent victory in the courts for our clients. It is a testament to their combined fighting spirit that they trusted us to win this case for them. No-one can imagine the horror of finding out that the property you purchased was in the process of been sold and you were to be thrown on the streets.” She added: “In less than three months our Spanish Barristers, Tomas Agüera and Jose Manuel Arrebola, have succeeded in suspending the auction indefinitely.”
FIGHT
But that is only one bank which has been stopped from repossessing and selling on these people’s houses. There are three other banks which have vested interests in Tecnologia houses all over the southern Costa Blanca. So, the fight is by no means over and soon criminal charges will be brought against the rogue builder in an attempt to not get the money back, because that is long gone, but to get some justice for the years of stress and upset that his selfish, greedy, and frankly fraudulent actions have caused these poor people. Nikki concluded: “Our clients can now live in peace whilst we file claims with the liquidator, criminal claims, obtain escrituras and regularise the development itself.”
Couple fight eviction from their home
Stewart and Lynda Forrester
A COUPLE from El Galan is having to take turns in going out after solicitors told them that bailiffs could come any day to evict them. Stewart and Lynda Forrester bought a Tecnologia Urbanistica house through Atlas International in 2003. In 2004 the house, which was part of a row of six, suffered severe damage due to the subsidence of an end terrace that had not been underpinned properly. Structural engineers advised the couple to leave the house immediately after six inch cracks started to appear throughout the house. In the meantime, Tecnologia’s owner, Emilio Martin de las Mulas Naranjo, offered Stewart and Lynda another house down the road in Bosque del Lomas 16, where they are still living for most of the year. The couple paid in full - more than 149,000€ - for the property to Atlas International.
FIGHTING
The couple never received any confirmation that the money had been paid to the builder and like with so many other cases that RTN has heard about, the owner of Tecnologia then took a mortgage out on the property. The couple has been fighting for their deeds since 2005 and have been constantly pushed from pillar to post. Their solicitors at the time, Aroca Seiquer, even phoned them at their home in South Wales to say that the deeds were in the office and then when the couple flew over to retrieve them, the solicitors said that the deeds weren’t there after all! The couple has known for some time that there was a debt on their property and even got a court judgement which states that all debts on the property must be cleared.
NO LIFE
Unbeknown to the couple, the bank has since repossessed the property and the auction took place six months ago. This was only discovered after the pair swapped solicitors to the same company that is helping other Tecnologia homeowners. As a result, the bailiffs could come any day and change the locks and the couple will be evicted from their home. Stewart told RTN: “If we need food from the supermarket, we take it in turns to go. We can’t afford to both leave the house. If one of us has to go out, the other stays at home, but what kind of life is that? We are supposed to be enjoying our retirement together.”
Jose Ramon Vidal from the Atlas Group said: “Atlas forwarded payments received to the builder as per the contract they had with Tecnología, and is in receipt of a certificate stating that the funds were received by the builder and keys were passed to the clients by Tecnología.” RTN asked for a copy of this certificate but was told that it would be sent direct to the couple. Keep reading RTN for more on this story as it develops.
FIGHTING
The couple never received any confirmation that the money had been paid to the builder and like with so many other cases that RTN has heard about, the owner of Tecnologia then took a mortgage out on the property. The couple has been fighting for their deeds since 2005 and have been constantly pushed from pillar to post. Their solicitors at the time, Aroca Seiquer, even phoned them at their home in South Wales to say that the deeds were in the office and then when the couple flew over to retrieve them, the solicitors said that the deeds weren’t there after all! The couple has known for some time that there was a debt on their property and even got a court judgement which states that all debts on the property must be cleared.
NO LIFE
Unbeknown to the couple, the bank has since repossessed the property and the auction took place six months ago. This was only discovered after the pair swapped solicitors to the same company that is helping other Tecnologia homeowners. As a result, the bailiffs could come any day and change the locks and the couple will be evicted from their home. Stewart told RTN: “If we need food from the supermarket, we take it in turns to go. We can’t afford to both leave the house. If one of us has to go out, the other stays at home, but what kind of life is that? We are supposed to be enjoying our retirement together.”
Jose Ramon Vidal from the Atlas Group said: “Atlas forwarded payments received to the builder as per the contract they had with Tecnología, and is in receipt of a certificate stating that the funds were received by the builder and keys were passed to the clients by Tecnología.” RTN asked for a copy of this certificate but was told that it would be sent direct to the couple. Keep reading RTN for more on this story as it develops.
14 JUNE 2012 WRITTEN BY LOUISE CLARKE
Lesley and Nigel have joined the fight for their homes
MORE RESIDENTS JOIN THE FIGHT TO SAVE THEIR HOMES
Lesley and Nigel have joined the fight for their homes
MANY REGULAR readers of RTN will be aware of the recent articles about the repossession of Tecnologia Urbanistica S.L. (TU) houses in Orihuela Costa.
As the auction date for their houses draws ever closer for the homeowners of Bosque del Lomas III, RTN has been keeping updated with all the developments on this story and recently visited London to discuss the case with several leading lawyers and barristers who specialise in these types of cases.
But this problem is not just isolated to the three or four urbanisations in Orihuela Costa. It is believed that hundreds of people who bought and paid for houses in full with this developer are affected and they just don’t know it; or they are burying their heads in the sand and hoping that the problem will go away all by itself. It won’t!
FOBBED OFF
Nigel and Debbie Potter and Lesley and Richard Lansdown are just two of a dozen couples who bought TU houses in Lo Crispin, Algorfa. The problems they have are almost identical to Bosque del Lomas; the only difference is the banks that were used for the mortgages.
Both couples bought off plan through Atlas International in 2004 and used Aroca Seiquer Solicitors and both paid in full for their properties only to discover eight years later that a mortgage had been taken out on the houses by TU and they will now, if they don’t fight, lose them.
Their community, Vista Rosa, has 99 houses; many of which remain unsold and are now decaying. Both told RTN how they were fobbed off by the solicitors every time they went to ask for their title deeds when they came over on holiday. “It drove my wife mad,” Nigel commented, “We’d spend all our holidays traipsing to their office and back and always got pushed from pillar to post.”
CASH
Thanks to RTN’s article about the plight of the Bosque del Lomas residents, the two couples realised that they were in the same situation and have since joined the Bosque residents to fight for their homes. “Our children’s inheritance is at stake,” commented Lesley, “We have been totally fleeced and made to feel like it was our fault that we paid up front in full.”
Both couples paid their cash at the builders’ office in Torrevieja, whilst being accompanied by an Atlas representative. “There were loads of us,” said Nigel, “It was like a cattle market and we watched our hard earned cash go through a counting machine in front of us. I wish to God we had not bought the house, but we did and we will continue to fight for it.”
*** STOP PRESS ***
At 3pm yesterday afternoon (Thursday) CAM Bank announced that the auction of the houses on Bosque del Lomas III has been postponed indefinitely.
More on this in next week’s RTN.
As the auction date for their houses draws ever closer for the homeowners of Bosque del Lomas III, RTN has been keeping updated with all the developments on this story and recently visited London to discuss the case with several leading lawyers and barristers who specialise in these types of cases.
But this problem is not just isolated to the three or four urbanisations in Orihuela Costa. It is believed that hundreds of people who bought and paid for houses in full with this developer are affected and they just don’t know it; or they are burying their heads in the sand and hoping that the problem will go away all by itself. It won’t!
FOBBED OFF
Nigel and Debbie Potter and Lesley and Richard Lansdown are just two of a dozen couples who bought TU houses in Lo Crispin, Algorfa. The problems they have are almost identical to Bosque del Lomas; the only difference is the banks that were used for the mortgages.
Both couples bought off plan through Atlas International in 2004 and used Aroca Seiquer Solicitors and both paid in full for their properties only to discover eight years later that a mortgage had been taken out on the houses by TU and they will now, if they don’t fight, lose them.
Their community, Vista Rosa, has 99 houses; many of which remain unsold and are now decaying. Both told RTN how they were fobbed off by the solicitors every time they went to ask for their title deeds when they came over on holiday. “It drove my wife mad,” Nigel commented, “We’d spend all our holidays traipsing to their office and back and always got pushed from pillar to post.”
CASH
Thanks to RTN’s article about the plight of the Bosque del Lomas residents, the two couples realised that they were in the same situation and have since joined the Bosque residents to fight for their homes. “Our children’s inheritance is at stake,” commented Lesley, “We have been totally fleeced and made to feel like it was our fault that we paid up front in full.”
Both couples paid their cash at the builders’ office in Torrevieja, whilst being accompanied by an Atlas representative. “There were loads of us,” said Nigel, “It was like a cattle market and we watched our hard earned cash go through a counting machine in front of us. I wish to God we had not bought the house, but we did and we will continue to fight for it.”
*** STOP PRESS ***
At 3pm yesterday afternoon (Thursday) CAM Bank announced that the auction of the houses on Bosque del Lomas III has been postponed indefinitely.
More on this in next week’s RTN.
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