crookesey

[QUOTE=Rosemary;10933974] Many thanks, this forum looks cool, unlike some where strangers are immediately attacked by the self appointed forum warriors. I despair of some folk, I actually think that many are trolls pretending to be the fountains of all knowledge relative to Spanish living.

It will be good to chat to folk who might just be able to answer my questions honestly, perhaps you would be so kind as to let me know which members are good on anything Benissa coast.

Cheers

Mitzyboy

[QUOTE=crookesey;10934214] Ive been to Benissa a few times on photographic trips. I was a bit further north in the Gandia area

amideislas

Like anywhere, there are certain members who live in a world they wish for - these are normally the ones who don't get out much, but want to believe they do...

...and others who live in the real world, these are the ones who have to face reality: going to work, paying the rent/mortgage, electricity, heating, maintaining the house and the car - filling it with petrol, dealing with taxes, and bureaucracy/corruption, avoiding getting nicked or defrauded, etc.

Obviously, you get very different viewpoints from both...

Welcome to the zoo. Which category do you fit into?

caroline c

So I should be happy to be allowed to live in my home that I have a mortgage to pay for the next 16 years, not be allowed to sell it or leave it to my children. Some people just don´t seem to get it that we did nothing wrong, it was the corrupt professionals we dealt with who did. Why should I have to buy a family home and then give it away. Perhaps if some of the people saying these things were in the same situation as us they would view things a little differently. We have spoken to many people who purchased property here and they all say the same thing to us - we didn´t do anything any different to you. We were just the unlucky ones who got shafted.

amideislas

That's socialism for you. You get benefits and freebies, but at the end of the day, the government more or less owns you, can impose their will, collect tax for everything in the interest of the "common good", spend it foolishly and/or pocket it, fostering distrust, which discourages transparency, increases corruption and under the table dealings, enabling savvy, connected "professionals" to legally defraud you, and at the end of the day, it's your fault...

Mitzyboy

crookesey

[QUOTE=Mitzyboy;10934233] Benissa Town and Benissa Coast are two completely different places, we've been visiting the area since the early 80's, I noticed an add a couple of years ago for a property for sale in Cap Blanc for a connected town house on a gated development of circa 17 properties. The sea view has been somewhat spoilt by a £7million villa built just in front of it, but I wouldn't lose much sleep about that, however I can't recall the name of the complex, the houses sell for circa €250,000, any ideas guys?

Mitzyboy

[QUOTE=crookesey;10934378] Yes, I know ... I've been all around there with my trusty camera

jackytoo

Is it just me but I find it outrageous that it would deemed to be ok. for owners to be allowed to live in the houses for their lifetime and then be taken over by the state. If the houses were built in protected areas how can they be allowed to stand. They should be demolished and compensation paid seeing as the legal process was at fault. Let them recoup the losses from the crooked Mayors, Developers that worked hand in glove.

What will happen is these owners will die, the properties will be sold for a song (being illegal) and suddenly, when bought by the Spanish will suddenly become legalised. They want to sell houses to the Brits but they don't want us to live in them

Domino

Isn't that a bit racist Jacky ??

and, although it may surprise you, it isn't just Brits that have been conned.

me me

I think anyone who either says it is your own fault or that the houses should be taken over by the state are either heartless or arrogant or both.

I suppose those knowalls have never trusted a professional, (after all how could they for blaming you for not knowing the law inside out) so presumably they do not heed the advice of a doctor unless they know medicine inside out.

TBH they make me sick.

I feel so bad for you Caroline, I think you and thousands like you have been give a very raw deal, you have my sympathy without suggesting that you were in someway stupid or at fault.

I hope you get it all resolved, you and all in the same boat through no fault of your own.

crookesey

Hi, I'm just a 66 year old who hasn't forgotten the 1960's, I can't stand bloody dick heads, the wife and I have grafted in our time, everything we have we own. We are just about to give our son a flat, he's so much unlike me, I'd find a business opportunity if I found myself on the planet Zog, so sorting him out makes us feel good.

So which do I fit into? God only knows, because I don't.

jackytoo

In todays news. The Prosecution are asking for 226 years for the Mayor of Alcaucin (Axarquia) for corruption etc. He will probably get about 6 months

Also implicated are another 49 people including funcionarios in charge of planning, land division etc. For a small place it sounds as if they were all at it. The British didn't stand a chance...and they were mainly British buyers in that area!

http://www.diariosur.es/v/20131010/m...-20131010.html

Lynn R

Yes, I agree - but no matter how long he gets, it won't do anything to help the people stuck with illegal and unsaleable properties, which is the worst thing about it.

Personally, I agree with your earlier suggestion that those properties built on protected land should be demolished and full compensation paid to the buyers (provided they can prove they bought in good faith and a building licence for an actual dwelling and not some kind of agricultural building had been issued), with the assets of anybody convicted of involvement in these scams being confiscated to help pay for it.

However, there are so many properties built on land that wouldn't be classified as protected, just rustico, that demolition wouldn't really be a realistic option as the money just wouldn't be available to compensate the buena fe buyers. In those cases (unfortunately for the environment) I think the Junta should just legalise them, but draw a very clear line in the sand and put in place much stricter controls to ensure that more uncontrolled building doesn't result. They really should have been carrying out regular inspections in areas like the Axarquia and the Costa de la Luz to make sure that any construction that was going on was fully legal - what's the point of allowing building to progress to completion and even be sold and then turning round and saying they are illegal, retrospectively (the buildings weren't exactly invisible whilst they were being constructed, were they?).

I do have to say, though, that I draw a distinction between those people who bought in good faith and were assured that they had all the required bases covered, and those who bought something they knew to be not quite right (eg a building that only had a licence for a stable or similar but a house complete with garage and swimming pool was actually built) and thought they'd be OK if they could get away with it for more than 4 years. In that second group they could demolish every one of them without compensation, as far as I'm concerned.

jackytoo

The people who bought houses that were actually on Asperos were guilty. However, only guilty of being naïve. They were told by Estate Agents (many of them British) that was the Spanish way of doing things. It was too, worked ok. when they odd one did it but then the floodgates opened.

Re. compensation. I did notice in the article that the Prosecution are asking for compensation for the buyers of illegal houses which is a step forward. Not much to go around though with that sum

730.000 euros que deberán pagar los principales acusados para indemnizar a las compradores de viviendas irregulares.
.