‘It wasn’t until we moved to Spain that we realised how corrupt the country is’
6:05am Monday 4th August 2008
Comments (9)A DEVASTATED Christchurch couple who spent their life savings on a dream home in Spain could be made homeless as their property faces demolition.
John and Irene Jones sunk everything they had into a move to Almeria in Southern Spain four years ago, hoping for a better quality of life.
But the dream has turned into a nightmare for the retired couple facing the horrifying news that their home, and 19 others on the same estate, was constructed illegally and could be torn down.
Mr Jones, 70, said: "We were assured by the estate agents, the builders and even the town mayor that everything was above board.
"Suddenly, the police came down and stopped all building in the area.
"The problem is that the houses were built on what they call rustic land.
"Because the land has not been urbanised there should not be any development here.
"We're told that the plans to urbanise the land keep getting suppressed."
The case has been ongoing for two years, but just eight weeks ago the couple received an unexpected letter explaining that they could now lose their home - and all the money invested in their new life.
Mr Jones, a retired caretaker at St Walburga's Catholic School in Bournemouth, said: "If the worst happens we don't have much choice. We sold our home in Britain and cashed in our pensions, so basically we will be homeless."
Mr and Mrs Jones were both widowed when they met online in 2000. They got married in September 2003 and were attracted by Spain's economic and health benefits.
"We came to this area on holiday and loved it so much that we put our house on the market as soon as we got home," Mr Jones said. "We stayed in a bed and breakfast while an estate agent helped us find the perfect property.
"When you go on holiday you have a good time and go home. It wasn't until we moved here that we realised just how corrupt the country is."
The pensioners, along with the 19 other couples and families, are now waiting for judges to decide the fate of their home and are clinging to the hope of receiving compensation for their loss.
Your Say YourThisisdorset
Christopher, Wallisdown & Winton West says...
9:53am Mon 4 Aug 08
The problems arose when the idea of living abroad got bigger, and more homes, or more to the truth more modern homes were required, rather than the rustic, need renovations, etc,.
Throughout, this problem has arose, either through non urbanisation, or because the deeds or ownerships have not been checked thoroughly.
It is a sad matter for those in this story and others, but I agree. If for reasons you are not successful, reap what you can, dust yourselves down and start all over again. I am sure somewhere along the process you will get something back.
Good Luck to all.
local boy, branksome says...
4:33pm Mon 4 Aug 08
Good luck and if you can sell up before it gets much worse
HAL101, Bournemouth says...
4:59pm Mon 4 Aug 08
North or South
East or West
Man or mouse
Home is best
vivoespana, Spain says...
8:22pm Mon 4 Aug 08
We emigrated to Spain from Bournemouth many years ago and are fully integrated into the Spanish way of life.
We find the headline of the article insulting as the Spain and our Spanish friends that we love and know is not corrupt.
As we say to anyone who wishes to live anywhere outside of the British Isles - you must do your homework and investigate everything thoroughly before paying a deposit.
2Much, New Forest says...
7:20am Tue 5 Aug 08
vivoespana wrote:I agree Vivo...and i agree..in fact, i would say a lot of it has to do with the media. Adverts in papers, promising your "dream home in the sun", adverts on the radio with the same messages "want your holiday to last forever?", and i guess people are just sucked in...like the Kooks are saying at the moment..why do you buy the hand the hand feeds you?!
We live in Spain and the majority of problems have been created by greed by speculators, builders and by people wanting to buy - we portion some blame onto the many TV programmes.
We emigrated to Spain from Bournemouth many years ago and are fully integrated into the Spanish way of life.
We find the headline of the article insulting as the Spain and our Spanish friends that we love and know is not corrupt.
As we say to anyone who wishes to live anywhere outside of the British Isles - you must do your homework and investigate everything thoroughly before paying a deposit.
There are corrupt people all over the world..and Spain is no exception..but because Brits have the "want it now" attitude...we'll always here stories like this.
Robert Ratcliffe, poole says...
9:07am Tue 5 Aug 08
HAL101 wrote:What a sweet ryme. Did you learn it while hanging around schools?
Our lawyers get a lot of criticism sometimes, but now we can see why the conveyancing carried out on the purchase of a property, so resented by some, is important. This could not have happened in dear old UK. North or South East or West Man or mouse Home is best
Fran, Wimborne says...
7:31pm Tue 5 Aug 08
We asked that he triple check everything as we couldn't afford for the property to be illegal. Guess what it is and the only reason we found out is because the Spanish neighbour tried to extort money from us for an illegal builders supply a year after we had moved in. If they hadn't done that we wouldn't have been any the wiser until the bulldozers came knocking.
We were told by lawyers and banks that everything was 100% legal.
THEY LIED!!
Ours wasn't an investment property, it was our home.
smiler, bournemouth says...
10:03pm Fri 8 Aug 08
2Much wrote:I agree. Been going there for the last 20 years as my parents lived there. I will be moving there as soon as I can. It is still a better place to live as long as you remember you are not on a permanent holiday. You live as the Spanish live and you integrate. They still have winters and rain and unless you have loads of money you may still need to work which means learning the language.
I feel for these people, really i do..BUT..why go on holiday for two weeks..and make a decision like that...just like that! I would move to Spain tomorrow if i could..but that's because i've been going as often as i can for the past 10 yrs, lived there for a year when i was younger and worked with the Spanish. I certainly wouldn't risk it "on a whim", and i certainly wouldn't buy an off plan place on an urbanisation! If Brits went to enjoy the culture, the people and what Spain has to offer, and not because the sun is always shining and it's cheap..they wouldn't find themselves in such a mess. If you get a windfall from this..then go back..get a nice little house in a Spanish village and integrate!
FACING HOMELESSNESS: John and Irene Jones
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2Much, New Forest says...
8:24am Mon 4 Aug 08
I would move to Spain tomorrow if i could..but that's because i've been going as often as i can for the past 10 yrs, lived there for a year when i was younger and worked with the Spanish. I certainly wouldn't risk it "on a whim", and i certainly wouldn't buy an off plan place on an urbanisation!
If Brits went to enjoy the culture, the people and what Spain has to offer, and not because the sun is always shining and it's cheap..they wouldn't find themselves in such a mess.
If you get a windfall from this..then go back..get a nice little house in a Spanish village and integrate!