Las palomas owners story

[Chris McDonagh]

Our law firm represents clients who are buyers of Las Palomas Seaside Golf Community condominiums seeking a return of their deposits based on the cancellation option in the purchase contract and based on rights under various U.S. federal and state laws, including RICO and the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act. In connection with our clients’ RICO (i.e., unlawful acts) claim, we are interested in speaking with other Las Palomas buyers about their dealings with Las Palomas, Abigail Properties, and individual sales agents, representatives or principals, including Alan Mishkin and Steven Barger. Among other things, we are interested to speak to any Las Palomas buyers who saw or responded to advertising in Arizona or elsewhere in the U.S., if they believe there were any misrepresentations in the sales process (e.g., how buyer deposits were to be held or used by Las Palomas, status of construction financing and construction schedule, whether Las Palomas was being developed and/or managed by developers from the U.S.), and what representations have been made to buyers about the so-called “force majeure” court ruling. If you have any information that may be relevant to our clients’ claims, please contact Chris McDonagh at Raven, Clancy & McDonagh, P.C. in Tucson, Arizona at (520) 798-5233 or by email at [email protected]. Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

 

[jerry]

Woo!!!! Some real estate slingers just felt there butts clinch..Rico!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Crap time to packup the old Gold Blazer,the fake passport and whats left of the kickbacks and head to Panama.
Man this is just what we all warned all the RockyPoint Boosters about 4 years ago.When you guys blindly attacked anyone calling bull**** on these obviously insane projects( (I received friggin death threats) you ended up shooting yourself in the foot. This project South of me has all kinds of peoples money and as of last week the only thing down there is a new bunch of squatters with some nice goats.
Dryheat if you have not jumped off the roof of your Dubai condo could you maybe admit you were off base on Las Palomas?

 

[Roberto]

(I received friggin death threats)
/QUOTE]

That was just another step in protecting the US from the Red Menace and all the commie, pinko, ratfinks.

the only thing down there is a new bunch of squatters with some nice goats.

What color are the goats?

 

[jerry]

The goats are all black,which may be a bad omen.The Santo Tomas guys are fighting with a new bunch of squatters in some land they own down south too.It is a pretty good racquet if time is an issue
Now everyone is just waiting them out.Any owners at Paridiso might want to look into hiring some security guards before the goat herder owns the place.

 

[Roberto]

The goats are all black, which may be a bad omen.

Hmm, sounds bad to me! I was hoping for piebald. The good thing for you about all the problems down there is that it's reduced the number of competing houses for sale in the area!!

Isn't waiting them out a bad strategy? The longer they are on it the better their claim?! Si O no? Ya gotta fence it all in too.

 

[jerry]

you have to fence but they have a way of being cut so you need a guard.The claims can go on for ever, even bogus ones so a lot of times they make a good buck off it.The Santo Tomas guys never pay a bribe,answer all complaints quickly,fire back harder and help out in the community.Still they are always dealing with it.

 

[Kenny]

Dryheat if you have not jumped off the roof of your Dubai condo could you maybe admit you were off base on Las Palomas?

Who knows Jerry,

maybe he owns a gold Blazer.

 

[playaperro]

Hey Chris ever heard of Francisco Hernandez Mandujano Aka El Ladron working the Las Conchas vecinos...

 

[dry heat]

ok ok, here is the deal. I admit that I did not expect such a drastic fall in prices. I did plan on holding my condo for at least 5 years and fortunately paid cash for it. I will probably hold it for more like 8 years now. This attorney that is trying to capture money from the developer won't find any money anywhere. I have yet to hear of a succesful case in which someone was paid from a Puerto Penasco project. When buying in Puerto Penasco I went with the largest and biggest and only purchased because they had already built something and had something to show for it. I feel bad for the owners who financed their purchses or are stuck in limbo waiting for a building to be completed. HOwever from what I hear the developer is offering to move these owners to units that are completed in phase 2. Have yet to jump off since I spend less that what I have. Don't buy something unless you can pay cash for it- regardless of what it is.

 

[rockyptjoe]

Now what happens with these large complexes when the owners stop paying the exorbitant maintenance fees, and the whole place goes to pot....with no buyers in sight???

 

[Chris McDonagh]

BeachDog,
I hadn’t heard of Francisco Hernandez until I read the discussion on this site about him. It sounds like the type of nightmare scenario that feeds into the fear that keeps a lot of gringos from ever buying property in Mexico. That’s unfortunate, because in general Mexico has legal protections for foreign owners that are typically better now than the negative reputation that persists. A will contest or probate dispute regarding who owns property after someone dies is not all that unusual in the U.S. So, in that respect, someone claiming to have a secret will is not something that is unique to Mexico or that you’re safe from in the U.S. Nor does justice always prevail in court in the U.S. or Mexico. But, at least to my knowledge, in the U.S. the police don’t take sides and evict someone in possession until after a final decision is made in court. That at least preserves a sense of justice and due process until there’s a trial. That doesn’t seem to be what happened to you, and it’s the type of thing that may cause people to fear that their property is not safe unless this is clearly resolved fairly by the court.
I like to think that buying property in Mexico can be made safe if done right. When I represent people buying Mexican property, I’m very focused on trying to eliminate as much risk as possible. We negotiate purchase contracts and work with experienced and reputable Mexican lawyers and notarios to do due diligence and whatever else is possible to minimize risk and to withhold as much as possible of the purchase price until transfer of legal title (not just signing a Promesa or delivery of possession).
But, unfortunately, even getting good title or a bank trust isn’t always enough to avoid legal disputes. I wish you luck.

 

[Chris McDonagh]

Dry heat,
Finding the money and collecting can be the tricky part, especially if your only claim is against the project. But our clients’ claims aren’t only against the Mexican company that owns Las Palomas. They are also personally against individuals in Arizona whom we understand have significant assets in the U.S. Las Palomas is letting Phase 3 buyers buy units in Phase 1 or 2 instead of the Phase 3 unit they have under contract. But my clients are not interested in that. They want their money back as promised under the purchase contract, because the units were not delivered by the delivery deadline. Las Palomas has claimed they are excused by a Mexican court’s “force majeure’ ruling, but three different Mexican lawyers have analyzed that court ruling and given legal opinions that the co-called “force majeure” ruling does not legally excuse Las Palomas from its obligation to refund the deposits per the contract. My clients signed their contract based on the refund promise and they just want the contract to be honored.
Good advice to pay cash and get property and title in hand if you can afford it.

 

[InkaRoads]

BeachDog,
.........Mexican lawyers and notarios........

I believe that a Mexican Lawyer is called a "Notario" in Mexico, if you know better could you please clarify since there are many people here that do not know the difference and might think that a mexican Notario is the same as a "notary public" in USA

 

[playaperro]

Chris,
Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to the Story about Francisco EL Ladron..

Inka. Betcha 3 Tecates @ the Depot you are wrong. He worded it right..

 

[Mentiras y Traición]

Chris,
Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to the Story about Francisco EL Ladron..

Inka. Betcha 3 Tecates @ the Depot you are wrong. He worded it right..

Thanks, Playa!

 

[dry heat]

not having any affiliation with the developer or previous partners... you may be wasting your time trying to re-coup any part of your clients down payments. Said assetts in the US are not present per a few sources I have. You may want to research what they actually have in the US before proceeding, because if that is what you are going to go after you may not find anything of value tied to their LLC. In addition I have not seen any previous cases succeed in the collection of damages from a mexican development who registered in the US (see other failed developments in puerto penasco, cabo and puerto vallarta). I personally don't see an ice cubes chance in hell you will succeed in collecting any money for your clients. If you do collect, I will quickly put down my money for your retainer fee to handle my 35 properties and refer you to anyone I know that will benefit from your services- because you will be walking on water if your clients are able to collect.

 

[JimMcG]

All "Notarios" in Mexico have to be licensed Lawyers, but all lawyers are not "Notarios".

In Mexico a Notario is the independent Lawyer/Notary required in a Real estate transaction.

So a Notario is a lawyer but a Lawyer is not necessarily a Notario. A notario is a seperate licensed specialty for a Lawyer, and yes they do perform services such as the Notary in the USA, serve as a Witness to the transaction. They also serve as "a testigo" that the papers are served and correct.

Si?

Pretty much so, but I would reemphasize that a Mexican Notario is much much more than a US notary.

 

[Chris McDonagh]

Wahoo and Jim pretty much covered the difference between notarios (who are lawyers) and other lawyers. The notario publico holds special powers and duties that other Mexican lawyers do not. So, the notario is not just far more than a US notary, they are also more than a regualr Mexican lawyer. Notarios have authority to perform certain governmental functions, such as protocolize real estate deeds and contracts for registration in the public registry, collect transfer taxes and income/capital gains taxes due on real estate transactions, serve as a witness for transactions, signatures, etc.

 

[JimMcG]

Dry heat,
Finding the money and collecting can be the tricky part, especially if your only claim is against the project. But our clients’ claims aren’t only against the Mexican company that owns Las Palomas. They are also personally against individuals in Arizona whom we understand have significant assets in the U.S. Las Palomas is letting Phase 3 buyers buy units in Phase 1 or 2 instead of the Phase 3 unit they have under contract. But my clients are not interested in that. They want their money back as promised under the purchase contract, because the units were not delivered by the delivery deadline. Las Palomas has claimed they are excused by a Mexican court’s “force majeure’ ruling, but three different Mexican lawyers have analyzed that court ruling and given legal opinions that the co-called “force majeure” ruling does not legally excuse Las Palomas from its obligation to refund the deposits per the contract. My clients signed their contract based on the refund promise and they just want the contract to be honored.
Good advice to pay cash and get property and title in hand if you can afford it.

not having any affiliation with the developer or previous partners... you may be wasting your time trying to re-coup any part of your clients down payments. Said assetts in the US are not present per a few sources I have. You may want to research what they actually have in the US before proceeding, because if that is what you are going to go after you may not find anything of value tied to their LLC. In addition I have not seen any previous cases succeed in the collection of damages from a mexican development who registered in the US (see other failed developments in puerto penasco, cabo and puerto vallarta). I personally don't see an ice cubes chance in hell you will succeed in collecting any money for your clients. If you do collect, I will quickly put down my money for your retainer fee to handle my 35 properties and refer you to anyone I know that will benefit from your services- because you will be walking on water if your clients are able to collect.

Chris, thanks for contributing to the forum; I have to agree with Dryheat on this one. I wish you the very best in finalizing this situation with an equitable resolution for all involved, but so far I have never seen it accomplished in various resorts in Mexico, over the years. If you can manage to pull it off you, might want to increase the size of your legal team since I also will be sending you work.

There are many cases of Mexican attorneys taking the various cases until the money is used up, with no results. I have even had excellent results on one case only to to have the same attorney abscond with the money on the second case. The consensus of opinion was that political pressure on him prevented him from pursuing the case. However the money was never refunded.

Again, best wishes in the pursuit of justice and I will be looking forward to your updates.

Thanks again.

 

[Mentiras y Traición]

Frightening.