reclaimyourdeposit.com rescue plan underway
Having launched only one month ago, it’s apparent just how many Brits find themselves in hellish situations with regard to lost deposits on overseas homes. Several hundred investors have already contacted reclaimyourdeposit.com with tales of how their property dreams have left them considerably out of pocket – some to the tune of half a million pounds.
Director Daren Wallbank comments, “Whilst some countries and characters produce a high level of enquiries - Bulgaria and MRI currently top our charts - we’re seeing a mixture of stories. Blame seems to lie on four doorsteps. First, estate agents who have taken client funds but never passed them to the developer and then gone AWOL; second, developers who have failed to secure licenses, deliver promises or simply gone bust; third, banks that have mishandled consumer funds in escrow or changed the terms of developers’ loans at whim leaving them financially unstable and, sadly, the fourth is the buyer who hasn’t done his due diligence, decided against using a lawyer and is now paying the very expensive price.”
Some of the stories unearthed by reclaimyourdeposit.com make for very uncomfortable reading and reinforce the reasons why the overseas property industry has such a shocking reputation at times. How about the 25,000 euros paid for an apartment on the Costa del Sol - now lost as the agent, lawyer and developer have all gone bust. Or the 42,500 euros paid for a townhouse on Costa Cálida that is complete, but has no habitation license so the client is rightly stalling on taking title deed. Meanwhile poor build quality has caused the basement to flood but the agent has said they won’t access it until they pay final funds – stalemate. These are sizeable sums of money.
Consider the buyer who paid an Italian lawyer 41,000 euros for an apartment in Calabria but they have now disappeared without passing the funds to the developer. Or the 90,000 pounds paid for an apartment in Dubai which was due for completion in 2009, has barely broken ground, yet the developer is asking for a further 90,000 pounds or they’ll terminate the contract. A similar story in Cyprus where 44,000 euros has been paid for an apartment due to complete in 2006 but it’s barely built and the developer is insisting on more money – despite owing several years’ compensation which is written into the contract. There are a few honest, communicative developers who are not hiding but holding up their hands to say “we have no money to finish” – at least people know where they stand.
Although unable to wave a magic wand and return people’s monies in a Robin Hood-like crusade, reclaimyourdeposit.com is there to assess individual cases, scrutinize loopholes in purchase contracts and reclaim monies on the client’s behalf. Daren Wallbank continues, “I have seen exactly how it works from the inside, having been an Estate Agent and Sales Director for a now-defunct developer, and am now using this knowledge to help purchasers. reclaimyourdeposit.com believes in solutions which help people draw a line under their nightmares and move on with their life.”
Typically reclaimyourdeposit.com would explore five different avenues to arrive at a solution: legal action against the developer, negotiating with the developer, selling a client’s contract to an investor, switching to a completed unit on same development or switching to a completed unit on different development. reclaimyourdeposit.com can work on a fee basis, success fee basis or a mixture of the two.
