9 Legal Tips you need to know if you lost your money on an Off-Plan Property Purchase

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If you have lost funds when you paid up front to a builder or developer, you should know the following

According to the ruling 733/2015, issued by the Supreme Court and dated December 21, 2015, banks have an obligation to respond to the amounts advanced to developers or builders by purchasers of homes that have not been entered into a special account or endorsed by the promoter.

This is great news for thousands of affected families.

9 Legal Tips for Off-Plan Cases

However, please be aware of the following:

If you paid money to a builder for your off-plan property and won the court case, but he has no money… What do you do? Cash in on the bank guarantee or insurance policy.
If you paid money to your builder for your off-plan property, but he did not pay for the insurance… What do you do? Claim against your bank.
Who has an obligation to pay you? The bank has an obligation to pay you, and will almost always be seen as responsible if this goes to Court.
Will the bank contest this? Yes, almost all of the cases that go through the courts are contested. The banks will state that they neither knew of the stage payments nor the policies.
Can I still win the case? Yes, but engage a solicitor who has (proven) experience in this area and make sure that your solicitor has all of the facts and figures surrounding your particular situation.
What are the costs? Can I present my case in a no win / no fee scenario? Be careful: many solicitors are claiming that there are no costs. However, if you lose, you could still incur costs, especially for the other parties’ legal and court expenses. This will end up being a costly experience for you, in terms of time and money.
How can I guarantee a win? Nobody could guarantee a win. However, make sure you use a solicitor who you can trust and that has experience in winning court cases for claiming back money on off-plan properties.
Look at the work of the solicitor that you had at the time of your property purchase. Did they handle the conveyance process properly?
Did you buy in the property boom, when so many solicitors made claims to be “experts” in the conveyance process? The same is happening again: “experts” claiming to have a portfolio of no win/no fee cases and won claims. Ask for proof of cases that have gone to court and been won.

If you were affected by this subject, it is very important that you ask for legal advice. You need to provide your lawyers with all the relevant documentation regarding the payments and the property in order to study the case and start to claim your Off-Plan payments.