It is estimated that thousands of purchasers of property in Spain from 2006 onwards are now struggling ever more to service their mortgage debt. The majority of these purchasers may also have taken the unilateral decision to “hand back” their keys to their Spanish Lender and, in their view, walk away from their property and their financial obligations to the Lender.
Regrettably, it is not as simple as it sounds, and the Spanish mortgage lender can legally pursue you for the debt.
In recent weeks and months, those same purchasers may have received a notification from their Bank in Spain informing them that they (the Bank) are intending to sell or may have already sold their Loan/ credit to a third party.
Whilst the receipt of this notice will be more than sufficient to cause an overwhelming sense of panic for the recipient and the threat of an impending legal action, it can also be viewed as an opportunity to be able to seek (and to reach) a settlement with their Bank in Spain relation to their outstanding liabilities under their Loan(s).
I’ve heard the term Vulture Fund - What is a Vulture Fund?
The Bank(s) in Spain, as have Banks in many other European jurisdictions, have taken the decision to “sell on” their non-performing loan books to certain so called “Vulture Funds” who will then look to recover these bad debts. Put simply, these Funds are profit driven vehicles who purchase the bad debt for a certain figure and then seek to aggressively pursue the borrower to recover a greater return on their investment in acquiring the debts.
Can the Vulture Fund pursue me in the UK for my debts in Spain?
The short answer to this question regrettably is yes. Debts can be enforced outside of Spain by the acquiring entities. If the Bank in Spain and/or the Fund proceed to Court in Spain and obtain a Judgement against the borrower, the subsequent enforcement of that Judgement outside of Spain may often depend upon the nature and the size of the debt and the appetite of the entity chasing the debt to incur additional legal fees to enforce it.
Should the Judgement be enforced, then this enforcement can be made against your assets in the UK.
Depending on individual circumstances and always on a case-by-case basis, we are now discussing with clients who have received these notices, what their options are.
The gains from this approach are:
- Once we are engaged to negotiate with the Bank in Spain or the Fund on the client’s behalf, the client can take a back seat and we will handle the settlement negotiations.
- This is a good opportunity to negotiate a full and final settlement of the loan as we do know for a fact that the Banks in Spain and the funds will not just dismiss any offer, since they want to settle the matter themselves rather than having to seek the legal enforcement of the debt in a foreign jurisdiction
If you would like to discuss your case or simply would like more information on our fixed fee approach a member of our team will be happy to take your call on a confidential basis at 01438 840258 or via email to admin@judicaregroup.com or even arrange a teleconference Zoom/Skype conference to discuss the matter.
With a solid and proven track record, getting in touch will allow us to understand your individual circumstances and discuss with you your concerns and objectives. Working with you we can then decide upon the correct strategy to approach the Bank and to find the solution which is right for you.