The situation regarding the financial status of the popular building company Polaris World has featured quite heavily in the Spanish press recently, with the company filing for a 3 month “stay of execution”, before being declared bankrupt.

An agreement was made through the courts to allow the three month grace period, which is technically a time when the company is allowed to renegotiate their debts and try to reach a settlement with their creditors.

The company has made some recent emergency attempts to do this, by selling off certain assets, but experts believe that these moves are only a small step in repairing the company and are in fact set only to benefit the major creditors, not protect those individuals who may well lose out, should the company finally be declared “Bankrupt”.

It is also worth noting that the bankruptcy procedure in Spain for a company like this is considerably different that the similar procedure in the UK. Time is the key element for two major reasons. The first being that the whole process can take many years just to be initiated, the time to conclusion being a very long time which would not be expected to be less than 5 years, but could be a lot longer. The second element of timing is in presenting a case for an individual who may want to claim back a deposit on a property that has no hope of being finished.

Once the process is initiated, the assets of the company are presented to the court and then eventually analysed. The first chunk of money from the assets would go to the government in the form of taxes and social security payments. The banks, who will have invested heavily in the building projects, would quite naturally be right at the front of the queue too. We then need to consider major suppliers and other larger companies, all with the strength to present their case, all of these before we get to the real victims in a situation like this, the individuals who have handed over cash, in good faith, as a deposit on a property that may never be finished.

The definition of a “finished” property is also open to interpretation, as even though a house may be physically complete, with electricity, sanitation etc, it is not actually complete until the habitation certificates are issued, which are only normally done once an entire fase of a development is completed. We also assume in this case that there is an authoritative body who will actually make the application.

A number of people who are in the position of having paid a deposit for a property have already begun proceedings to claim that money back, or a legal assurance of the completion of the property, some even at a lower price than originally agreed, due to the current market value fluctuations.

By being first in line with their claims, these people are right at the front of the queue, along with the big boys mentioned already, and are most likely to be able to get a satisfactory outcome, albeit not the outcome they would have originally wanted.

There is a saying that their is strength in numbers and this situation is no different. It is crucial that you get legal advice immediately, if you are in any doubt of your position in the building chain. It is also important that you consult an independent solicitor. After all, if your solicitor was appointed by the builder, who´s side are they likely to be on?

By consulting a solicitor who is already dealing with a case such as Polaris World, or Trampolin Hills, then you will not only be assured of the most up to date information, but you will become part of a group of victims, rather than being a lone voice, that is where the strength in numbers really comes into it´s own.

Ricor Abogados are in Spanish law firm who are already dealing with clients at Polaris World and are already building a case for their clients. Solicitor Oscar Ricor says “It is crucial that clients get legal advice as soon as possible. I cannot stress enough how important it is to act now and not wait in hope that something good will happen”.

You can contact Ricor Abogados via their website www.ricorabogados.com, by email to info@ricorabogados.com or by telephoning 0034 687 88 88 73.