Our Dream Home in Spain Turns into A Nightmare

June 21, 2009 in Articles by admin | No comments

Human Tower When John and I decided to retire and move to Spain in April 2008, our plan was to rent an apartment in the centre of Jumilla for nine months before moving at the end of the year to our own home at Residencial Santa Ana del Monte, a new golf development a few miles outside town.

There were many reasons why we had originally decided to buy at Santa Ana del Monte: we wanted to live in the “real” Spain, not an exclusively expat community; we preferred being inland rather than on the overcrowded costas; the setting was lovely, as it was surrounded by mountains and vineyards stretched towards the neighbouring town; we liked the lively town of Jumilla, which is renowned for its wine.

When we first visited the planned new development at Santa Ana in 2006 we were both excited at the prospect of living in such a beautiful area, and when we looked around the show house we believed we had found our dream home. It was an attractive, spacious property with a large living area downstairs, two double bedrooms and a full bathroom upstairs, and we had a rooftop solarium with stunning views where we planned to have a hot tub. We decided it would make a lovely holiday home initially, where family and friends could also stay, before we eventually retired there.

Over the next eighteen months we started to become a bit worried because we didn’t see much progress on our visits to the site and our house was due to be completed in January 2008. We were eventually told that the builders were behind schedule however our agents reassured us that delays were common, that there was nothing to worry about and our new home would definitely be ready by December that year. By this stage, we had discovered several internet forums where other buyers at Residencial Santa Ana del Monte gave regular reports after visiting the site, and these did not always reflect the optimistic views of our agents.

One reason why we decided to move to Jumilla and rent an apartment there, rather than waiting until we got the keys to our new home at the end of the year, was that we would be in the area and could see for ourselves what was happening rather than relying on our agents emailing us updates. We would also be able to report on the progress, or lack of it, to the various forums.

Looking back we may have been a bit naïve, however we trusted our agents and had an English-speaking solicitor who seemed very thorough, and of course a purchase contract that meant we would be entitled to our money back in the unlikely event of anything going wrong. The one thing that nobody had told us about, and which the developer should have given us anyway in accordance with Spanish law, was a bank guarantee. John and I were discovering the hard way that the way things are done in Spain is not the same as the way things are done in the UK.

Unfortunately we only found out about bank guarantees after paying our deposit, and although we then requested one and continued pestering the developer for one through our agents, it never materialised. We weren’t too worried though as we had been told the developer was well-established with a good reputation and we could see that, as well as the impressive show houses, the builders had already completed the foundations. In no time at all, the first houses would be ready to move into including our own new home.

Well, perhaps I should have said that we were very naïve. We found out in May last year, not long after signing the rental contract, that the company building at Santa Ana del Monte had gone into voluntary administration, as they had been unable to raise the finance necessary to continue with the new development. Our agents, once again, were very reassuring however we were beginning to have serious doubts and were worried about whether we would get our money back without that all-important bank guarantee.

We had important decisions to make. Our solicitor asked us whether we wanted to wait for our house to be completed (on the assumption that additional financing could be found) or whether we would prefer our money back. We realised that even if the developer was given the money to continue it would probably be another eighteen months before our house was finished, and as far as we were concerned that was unacceptable. We told our solicitor that the developer was in breach of contract so we wanted our deposit returned, as we couldn’t afford to continue renting an apartment without knowing how much longer we would have to wait. The only problem was that we knew it could be a long while before getting a decision because the Spanish courts are notoriously slow when dealing with these matters and without a bank guarantee, if the company became bankrupt, we might not get all or indeed any of our money back.

“Are we going to stay in Jumilla or return to London?” I asked John.

“What do you think?” he replied. “We like living in Jumilla, the weather is a lot better than back in the UK, the local wine is excellent and also very cheap, we have already made friends here and of course our families are looking forward to cheap holidays in Spain.”

“OK. That’s agreed: we will stay here in Spain, so now we need to find somewhere else to live – preferably a completed property with a roof on!”

The obvious choice was to stay in Jumilla. There are plenty of shops, bars and restaurants, with good transport links to the capital of Murcia, plus of course many excellent bodegas where we could sample and buy the local wine, so we had everything that we needed on our doorstep.

We decided that we should also look at towns nearer the coast, as we knew that property prices had come down since our initial viewing trips, however we didn’t find anywhere that appealed to us as much as the town where we were already living. Another factor was that we knew we could not assume our original deposit would be returned and we had to work with a reduced budget in the knowledge that we might have lost our money. As we didn’t want to overstretch ourselves, inland properties were a better prospect. The decision was made: we were staying on in Jumilla.

It is over a year since we first heard that the developers had gone into administration, and the courts still have not come to any decision. Rumour has it that there is a meeting with the administrators in June or July, but we are not holding our breath. Even if the judge decides in our favour, as we don’t have a bank guarantee, where will the money come from to repay us? Our deposit should have been held in a special clients’ account, however we have heard that the developer didn’t actually set up this account, so the situation isn’t looking very promising.

We have been lucky compared to other expats who have had similar unhappy experiences buying off-plan properties in Spain. We are no nearer getting our deposit back however we have managed to find a new apartment in Jumilla, which we have bought with the help of a small mortgage, and where we are now living. At least we have salvaged something out of the nightmare of our first experiences of buying a property abroad, although we know that there are many people who have been less fortunate.

We have also realised the advantages of living within a Spanish community rather than an isolated development outside town. Jumilla is proud of its traditions and many large fiestas are held here, including the celebrated Semana Santa and August Vendimia, however we have also been invited to some of the smaller fiestas which take place in local neighbourhoods throughout the year, which wouldn’t have happened if we had been living at Santa Ana del Monte.

We meet friends for coffee several times a week, and also go into various local bars for a glass of vino and some tapas on a regular basis. We attend Spanish lessons two evenings a week – made more challenging by the fact that our teacher doesn’t speak any English! I am sure the locals are bemused when they see the two British pensioners out running, although we don’t run as often as we used to, but we also do a lot of walking. There are frequent concerts, exhibitions and other events that we are able to enjoy in Jumilla, so we don’t have time to get bored. If we had been living on a golf resort, I am sure that we wouldn’t be leading such a varied life.

John and I are looking forward to spending the rest of our retirement living in Jumilla. We have faced many challenges over the last year and no doubt will face many more in the future. Life isn’t perfect here, however we are enjoying ourselves and are experiencing a more relaxed lifestyle than would have been possible if we had stayed in London.

I have written a book about our experiences to date, which I hope will help other people avoid the problems that we faced. I would also like to think that it will persuade other people who plan to retire to Spain that a rewarding and exciting future lies ahead of them.

Sue Walker is the author of “Retiring The Olé Way” ISBN 1-905430-64-7 – available from Amazon and all good bookshops now… www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905430647 (UK) – www.amazon.com/dp/1905430647/ref=nosim (Intl.)

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