and your best is left wanting.

You see, more incomplete English.

You should always leave them wanting more!!

I alas must be off to work now.

not a big Shakespeare fan I see.

Very, but the art is in what you choose to see.

now are you going to contradict yourself with the next post on here as well?

Think of it as less of a contradiction, and more of a leg pull.

Well, our friends are still waiting for the court case, they have spent 1000s in lawyers' fees.

Turns out that the previous owners were being threatened with legal action because of it being an illegal dwelling in the January and in the April (without anything being resolved) they sold it to our friends. I don't know how they can sleep at night. They have gone back to the UK and left no valid forwarding address.

The written translation has translated the word nave as dwelling or house. This was done by a bilingual employee of the estate agent. On the escritura it says nave. Our friends did not speak any Spanish at the time, the woman is now quite fluent.

They also have photographs taken from long before they were on the scene showing it being used as a dwelling, with the extensions and additions.

Their argument is, if it looks like a house, says it's a house in the translation and they were told (wrongly) it was a house by someone whose business it is to know, how were they to know otherwise?

What gets to me thought is that there are many other illegal dwellings in the same vicinity, some of them built and sold quite knowingly by an expat builder. The people who live in these properties, knowing they were illegal when they moved in, are not in trouble - one has even said that the illegal property which she knew was illegal from the beginning, is her pension!! Why are our friends who bought in good faith being made an example of but nothing happening to these people who knowingly bought or occupied? (I personally have a theory).

Anyway, suffice it to say, all is not quite lost yet for our friends but things still look very bleak.

In Valencia corruption has been legalised!
Make of that what you will.

I feery sorry for your friend.this has happend to maney people.I think its a case of buyer beware.didnt she/he get the solicitor to look at all the paper work before she parted with the dosh.in our area most reputable estate agents wont touch a illigal build.

Yes, she did have a lawyer, but the paperwork does say that it is a nave. It is the translation which says it is a house or dwelling and this was done by an employee of the Estate Agent. Our friends did not speak any Spanish at the time, (at least one of them speaks fluently now).

No-one at any time told them they were not allowed to live in the property.

They are NOT a reputable estate agent, but how do you know that when all you are trying to do is buy a house off them? You might not find it out until afterwards. As far as they were concerned it was all legal and above board.

I get a bit fed up of people saying that it is there own fault. They did all they could to the best of their knowledge, it isn't their fault that the agent turned out to be a crook.

As our bettie would say...Best not worry yourself chuck...One hotpot coming up lovee

Im not saying it was there own fault.most of us didnt have a clue when we bought.but we are all wiser in hindsight.it could have happent to any one of us.but surly the lawyer should have after seeing the copy of the original deeds that said nave heard alarm bells ringing.reguardless of the estate agent saying it was a house

Sorry if I misunderstood you betris, it's just that some people around here have been less than helpful.

Yes....you would have thought the lawyer would have noticed. If he did he didn't say anything, but that means nothing does it?

We know some people who when they bought a house were asked by the notary how much should be put on the deeds; were told by the lawyer where to hand over the black money (the bank manager's office); their lawyer had already said the deeds were OK when later it was found that they were not (luckily it is something that can be put right) - they thought this was just the way you buy a house in Spain - they didn't realise that both the abogado and the notario were corrupt.

Lots of it about .

yes that a big problem.every one is out for a quick buck.its wide spread and some times includes the town council and the bung off the builders to have permission to build where they shoulnt.

I heard of a case last year where a UK couple agreed a price to sell their house incl. black money then went to the Notario and completed the paperwork with the buyer.
Notario then as usual, left the room and the couple asked the buyer for the cash.
The buyer replied ""What cash there is no cash,the house is now mine"" and he calmly walked out the door. Bye,bye!