# court taking my friends house off him



## tonyinspain (Jul 18, 2011)

My friend has a debt of 6000 euros and has been told he has to pay this girl in england this amount or forfeit his home which is under mortgage to the bank
As he has no job and no benefits with a young child and wife can the courts take his house off him making him and is family homeless as he as tried to make a offer but won't accept it unless he pays the full amount
Any help would be appreciated


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

tonyinspain said:


> My friend has a debt of 6000 euros and has been told he has to pay this girl in england this amount or forfeit his home which is under mortgage to the bank
> As he has no job and no benefits with a young child and wife can the courts take his house off him making him and is family homeless as he as tried to make a offer but won't accept it unless he pays the full amount
> Any help would be appreciated


To be clear, this house in Spain or the UK?


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## tonyinspain (Jul 18, 2011)

It's in spain stravinsky


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

tonyinspain said:


> It's in spain stravinsky


So the court is in the UK???
If the court is in the UK I dont think they have the authority

If the court is in Spain, then a lot of time and effort must have gone into this for 6K.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I think there must be more to this situation. If your friend has no job and is receiving no benefits, then do we assume he isnt paying his mortgage?? in which case the property will be taken from him anyway! As for the 6000€ ??? Well its a debt that he owes and has obviously been told he has to pay it somehow. I dont think it makes any difference if the person he owes it to is in the UK????

I would recommend he sees an abogado with all the facts!

Jo xxx


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## tonyinspain (Jul 18, 2011)

Sorry I'm late repling to you all the debt as far as I can make out was money he had in a girlfriends account and she transferred it over to Spain 
They fell out and she has come back with this after 3 or 4 years it's been already in court in catalunya and that's the judgement as far as I can make out 
I thought the would put the amount as a embargo on the property but it seems she gets the house but his bank manager quite rightly says they have first say in the property and his new wife does odd jobs to pay the mortgage even thought the are in arrears with that the bank is not forclosing on him at the moment as he is trying to keep his mortgage going
This as been all done in Spain and I don't know what else to say to him as he is desperate he has never had a legal job over here hence no social but he has seen a solicitor and the impression I get is like everything here the village is all related and he feels he isn't getting proper advice in this matter
Thanxs jojo and Stravinsky for your replys I read your threads every day but this is the first time I have had a reason to thread myself thanxs again


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

¡He has a mortgage with a Spanish bank I am assuming; that being the case, as far as I am aware, no court can hand over his house to another person without the banks agreeing to this. I very much doubt they would but as previous posters have said, your friend needs to see a Spanish solicitor who is completely impartial. There are plenty around and maybe somebody on here in your area might kinow of one. Just a thought.


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

Tony be interested to know if there will be any residue in the property after mortgage and the 6000Es are cleared? 

Or to put it another way is this just convenient for the bank? I guess they know the chance of him getting a job is virtually nil in the foreseeable so they must see a default at some point. 

You also say it has been 3 or 4 years. I'm amazed a spanish court could respond at such speed. Do you know when she started the action? 

Sorry to say I cannot have sympathy with or be against your friend. Just don't know enough about it. But the thought that a brit living in the UK (?) can bring such a case, win, and demand payment I think might scare a few brits in Spain.

I remember there was a thread here not too long ago where a default on a mortgage in the UK led to the seizure of a property in Spain. Perhaps we are seeing the EU at least work in one facet.

Tony sorry not much help to you but sounds like you're being a good friend and what else can you do (unless you have 6k tucked away )


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## tonyinspain (Jul 18, 2011)

Thank you all I was under the impression they couldn't take his home and make him homeless but it is scary to know if the can do this for such a small sum of money and to be honest if I had that kind of money going spare I would have helped him out it's not nice seeing a bloke down with nowhere to turn thanks again all of you for your input tony


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

tonyinspain said:


> Thank you all I was under the impression they couldn't take his home and make him homeless but it is scary to know if the can do this for such a small sum of money and to be honest if I had that kind of money going spare I would have helped him out it's not nice seeing a bloke down with nowhere to turn thanks again all of you for your input tony


did he by any chance buy the house with his ex??

if the judgement and the debt is in Spain, then YES - afaik he CAN be made to sell the house (or any other goods he might have - car, furniture etc, but not clothes) to pay the debt - if he can't sell it then it can be taken off him, be sold by the bank, the debt paid & if he's lucky he'll get anything left over


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Sadly there are over 15,000 households a month being put onto the street because they can´t pay their mortgage any more and their homes are repossessed. There is no legal requirement to house homeless families here, as there is in the UK. They are moving in with their parents, friends or relatives, or returning to their home countries.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

People are unable to pay their mortgages and other debts and lose their homes or other properties for all sorts of reasons.
Sometimes this is due to factors beyond their control - losing their job because of a downturn in the economy, illness preventing one from working, an accident....many people take out insurance against such contingencies. But it is harsh and unfair to have to lose one's home through no fault of their own and in such cases courts should take an extremely lenient attitude and there should be no eviction.
Then there are other cases. 
Many people in Spain took out mortgages on homes with no realistic expectation of being able to pay their debt. The saying that all you needed at one time to get a mortgage on a Spanish property was a pulse and a passport is sadly true. I have been told of cases where deposits were paid via a credit card....Says it all, really.
I'm wondering how someone working illegally was able to get a mortgage...but this is Spain....
Debts owed to any EU national by another can be enforced anywhere in the EU by obtaining a European Payment Order. I'm not sure but I think that if the debtor is a UK citizen a County Court Judgment must be served against that person before an EPO can be obtained...but s/he must be resident in or have an address in the UK or a CCJ cannot be served.
I'm sure we are all in favour of the general principle that a debt must be repaid. But it seems absurd to claim a house for the cost of a small car....


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## jp1 (Jun 11, 2011)

So are we now seeing hundreds of thousands of people now sleeping rough on the streets of Spanish towns and cities? Surely not all can live with family/friends.

15,000 households a month is 180,000 households a year. This crisis has been escalating for approximately 4 years and IMO has at least another year or two until conditions improve.

If we say we have had 1 year of significant repossessions and maybe another 2 to follow, that could be the order of half a million households repossessed. Possibly a million or more individuals, many of them children.

In the meantime we have around 13% (today) of Spanish properties vacant, around 3.5 million properties! A really perverse situation.

I don't see the misery as I am based in the UK.

But it is a genuine question do we now have Spanish families with children living on the streets with the local councils taking no responsabilty to offer re-homing?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

jp1 said:


> So are we now seeing hundreds of thousands of people now sleeping rough on the streets of Spanish towns and cities? Surely not all can live with family/friends.
> 
> 15,000 households a month is 180,000 households a year. This crisis has been escalating for approximately 4 years and IMO has at least another year or two until conditions improve.
> 
> ...


Good point. No, we are not seeing families living in the streets, so someone's taking up the slack somewhere. I think it's the same as everywhere, some help is given by volunteers, charities and religious groups like Caritas, and there *is* some government provision.
It has be said though, the number of evictions for non payment of mortgages has increased, the number of homeless has increased and the number of people seeking help from organisations like Caritas has increased.
The 27th November was actually "Day of the Homeless", see article
Radiografa de los 'sin techo' | España | elmundo.es

From the article


> Hay *6.190 personas sin techo que duermen en la calle*, *33.464 personas sin vivienda* que tienen un lugar temporal donde dormir en albergues e instituciones y *1.475.037 personas con vivienda inadecuada*, según los estudios del sociólogo Pedro Cabrera.


*
There are 6.190 homeless people who sleep in the street*, *33.464 without housing* who have a temporary place to sleep in refuges and institutions and *1.475.037 people who have* *inadequate housing* according to socialogist Pedro Cabrera.



> Por muy sorprendente que pueda parecer,* casi la mitad de estas personas tiene hijos* (46%), aunque sólo una décima parte vive con ellos.


Surprising as it may seem, a*lmost half of these people have children* (46%) although only a tenth of them live together.

Somewhere else I saw that 46% of the homeless are foreigners.

Haven't been able to find any solid figures about how the situation has developed over the years.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

jp1 said:


> So are we now seeing hundreds of thousands of people now sleeping rough on the streets of Spanish towns and cities? Surely not all can live with family/friends.
> 
> 15,000 households a month is 180,000 households a year. This crisis has been escalating for approximately 4 years and IMO has at least another year or two until conditions improve.
> 
> ...



There is local cheap housing that can be made available - although only to locals who have lived in the town forever

Jo xxx


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## karunaji (May 3, 2010)

thrax said:


> ¡He has a mortgage with a Spanish bank I am assuming; that being the case, as far as I am aware, no court can hand over his house to another person without the banks agreeing to this. I very much doubt they would but as previous posters have said, your friend needs to see a Spanish solicitor who is completely impartial. There are plenty around and maybe somebody on here in your area might kinow of one. Just a thought.


I noticed this and I!d like to recommend an Abogado I have used through Spanish Inland Properties (Galera). Victorio Heras.He does speak English. Lives in Caniles.
I have his email /SNIP/ 

If you would like his phone number ask Les or Sean, at Spanish Inland Properties in Galera.I feel he can be trusted - best of luck - saci


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> Sadly there are over 15,000 households a month being put onto the street because they can´t pay their mortgage any more and their homes are repossessed. *There is no legal requirement to house homeless families here, as there is in the UK. * They are moving in with their parents, friends or relatives, or returning to their home countries.



There is no legal requirement in the UK to 'house' homeless families.
The last Labopur Government widened the scope of the 1996 Housing Act to include more categories but the legal requirement is merely to 'offer advice and assistance'.
Most Local Authorities no longer own a stock of social housing. The main providers are now charitable organisations such as Housing Associations.
Local Authorities' role is limited to 'strategic overview'.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> There is no legal requirement in the UK to 'house' homeless families.
> The last Labopur Government widened the scope of the 1996 Housing Act to include more categories but the legal requirement is merely to 'offer advice and assistance'.
> Most Local Authorities no longer own a stock of social housing. The main providers are now charitable organisations such as Housing Associations.
> Local Authorities' role is limited to 'strategic overview'.


I think you're splitting hairs. They don't leave evicted families on the streets, even if it means putting them up in B&Bs. Single people and couples yes, but not families.


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## karunaji (May 3, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> There is no legal requirement in the UK to 'house' homeless families.
> The last Labopur Government widened the scope of the 1996 Housing Act to include more categories but the legal requirement is merely to 'offer advice and assistance'.
> Most Local Authorities no longer own a stock of social housing. The main providers are now charitable organisations such as Housing Associations.
> Local Authorities' role is limited to 'strategic overview'.


An enormous amount has changed since I worked in Housing and citizens' rights -thanks to post Thatcher Britain.
If Uk based I'd strongly recommend going to a good Citizens' Advice Bureau. 

The organization, Shelter, does not have housing stock, but as an organization might be able to advise as to who to turn to. I am aware that many years ago solutions unacceptablewere those that separated the parents from their children- so if Local Authorities offer this as a resoltion, it is unacceptable.

But a lot more detail has to be made clear before one could make aninformed assessment.That is why I reccoment a CAB in the UK. Notsure how the Spanish part fits in to all this, but I am sure it will have NO bearing upon any resolution UK based. I would also dare to say that inner London CABs are far better informed, trained and motivated than those in the more gentler,greener pastures.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> I think you're splitting hairs. They don't leave evicted families on the streets, even if it means putting them up in B&Bs. Single people and couples yes, but not families.



Some do, some don't. Not hairsplitting. It's a very serious situation.
My point is that there is no *statutory* obligation to rehome evicted families.
I've known cases where families have been split, children taken into care and adults left to fend for themselves.. 
The fact is that during the last Labour Government, less social housing was constructed than under Thatcher!!
Many LAs and HAs have no spare capacity. 
The kind of accommodation made available to families -where available is all too often frankly disgusting.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

karunaji said:


> An enormous amount has changed since I worked in Housing and citizens' rights -thanks to post Thatcher Britain.
> If Uk based I'd strongly recommend going to a good Citizens' Advice Bureau.
> 
> The organization, Shelter, does not have housing stock, but as an organization might be able to advise as to who to turn to. I am aware that many years ago solutions unacceptablewere those that separated the parents from their children- so if Local Authorities offer this as a resoltion, it is unacceptable.
> ...


CAB s will merely pass you on to the LA which as I said has the responsibility to offer advice. 
I don't know much about CABs but I see no reason why city ones should have better qualified personnel than those in rural areas.
I have however been a member of a LA Housing Committee and Director of a Housing Association.
That was over a decade ago though.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

:focus:


does anyone have any idea if there's a Spanish version of CAB.............I'm sure I've heard there is something similar

let's face it, talking about the situation in the UK isn't going to help the OP


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

xabiachica said:


> :focus:
> 
> 
> does anyone have any idea if there's a Spanish version of CAB.............I'm sure I've heard there is something similar
> ...


Yes, there is, PW mentioned it some time ago.
I would think he needs a lawyer,though, not an advice bureau.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> Yes, there is, PW mentioned it some time ago.
> I would think he needs a lawyer,though, not an advice bureau.


absolutely - as I think we've said

I meant more to help with practicalities like maybe accessing the social services or something


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> :focus:
> 
> 
> does anyone have any idea if there's a Spanish version of CAB.............I'm sure I've heard there is something similar
> ...


Yes the OMIC (Oficina Municipal de Información al Consumidor). I have to confess I've never used it. When I had a lot of trouble with my phone line I went down to find out about it she told me to fill in a form and they'd see what they could do. When I asked how long this would take she said about three months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I explained I'd been without my phone for 3 weeks and that was quite long enough thanks. Her reply was once again well, we'll see what we can do. It may surprise you to know I never did find the time to fill out that form.
But that's only my experience Google OMIC and the town you're in and see what they can do!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes the OMIC (Oficina Municipal de Información al Consumidor). I have to confess I've never used it. When I had a lot of trouble with my phone line I went down to find out about it she told me to fill in a form and they'd see what they could do. When I asked how long this would take she said about three months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I explained I'd been without my phone for 3 weeks and that was quite long enough thanks. Her reply was once again well, we'll see what we can do. It may surprise you to know I never did find the time to fill out that form.
> But that's only my experience Google OMIC and the town you're in and see what they can do!


that's it



I can never remember that one!


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## karunaji (May 3, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Some do, some don't. Not hairsplitting. It's a very serious situation.
> My point is that there is no *statutory* obligation to rehome evicted families.
> I've known cases where families have been split, children taken into care and adults left to fend for themselves..
> The fact is that during the last Labour Government, less social housing was constructed than under Thatcher!!
> ...


If my memory serves me well, the unacceptability of splitting families to solve a housing crisis was based on a European Court ruling many years back - which of course,many Local Authorities would like to ignore. However, beyond the various political shades, this is a serious situation and needs up to date advice and councelling. Start with a CAB in the UK. If the housing problem is Spain based,then try to find an Abogado who specializes in Housing, possibly domestic law


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> that's it
> 
> 
> 
> I can never remember that one!


Think COMIC .


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes the OMIC (Oficina Municipal de Información al Consumidor). I have to confess I've never used it. When I had a lot of trouble with my phone line I went down to find out about it she told me to fill in a form and they'd see what they could do. When I asked how long this would take she said about three months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I explained I'd been without my phone for 3 weeks and that was quite long enough thanks. Her reply was once again well, we'll see what we can do. It may surprise you to know I never did find the time to fill out that form.
> But that's only my experience Google OMIC and the town you're in and see what they can do!


In recent times we have had good service from OMIC. On our Vodafone issues just getting them involved seemed to help. We were also told three months but it was concluded in a lightening two months 

At the moment we are pursuing one where Movistar are extracting money from a bank while saying verbally that they will not  

But it was good to see that one of the two big forms this time could be completed online


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