Tenerife property where seller has usufruct rights caused big problems.

Learn what a particular Tenerife property deal meant by usufruct:

This is a true story about a real estate property deal:

• A very elderly lady sold friends of mine a luxury villa.
• The lady did not reveal all of the strings attached to it, before selling.
• She handed over this particular Tenerife property cheap without showing her real motives for doing so.
• She knew that the buyers bought the villa to use only for winter vacations.
• Hence, the buying party would never be living in Tenerife all the time.

Usufruct was the accepted string attached.

• The lady of advanced age could stay on (by usufruct) in the Tenerife property.
• No word about caring for her by the buyers was taken down in the contract.
• My friends insist that this had never ever been mentioned by the old lady, verbally, either.

Personal caring was out of question:

• It would have been impossible for the new owners to look after her on a permanent basis.
• Also, they were neither qualified nor physically able for personal care of elderly people. The former villa owner knew all that.

Property with a catch:


The fact that the elderly lady would stay on living in the estate was one reason to justify the bargain property sale's price. The other was friendship.

After buying the property, the new landlords were looking forward to start house renovating to stop the villa's deteriorating estate.

One year later:

• 12 months later, long time after the deed of sale was signed my friends returned to Tenerife to spend winter on the island. They had just about arrived when the elderly lady became frail.
• Now, she insisted that my friends look after her 24 hours a day. No, she did not want them to arrange for a "professional carer".

This is where I was involved by helping to find a professional carer. The elderly lady didn't even want to discuss this and slammed the phone down while my friends tried to speak to her in my presence. I could listen in.

Petition to cancel property sale at court:

• Now, the elderly lady disputed the whole property sale by stating that she had been mislead by the buyers to sell cheap. She demanded cancellation of property sale of the villa.

Please, compare to known

property fraud... where unlawful money grabbing was a motive.

Uncertainty and worries:

Anyway, "spoiling other people's peace of mind, winter holidays and, causing sleepless nights is bad enough.
Making them start to hate a holiday home in Tenerife sounds far fetched, but it got as bad as that.

Even worse, the buyer started to say that he didn't like Tenerife any more.

My lady friend was not only unhappy by her purchased property, but also by its pending Court case set into motion by a woman she had seen as a good friend.

Elderly lady not trustworthy:

The elderly lady uttered strange things in court too often. She even said that the buyers had to go to their home country to apply for mortgage.

She knew that they didn't need one. She had seen the deeds of sale, she signed them.

Villa sale dispute solved:

However, the former lady owner of the property went into appeal.

Case won again:

You will hear, why, just now...

A second appeal is not possible in this case.

The ruling said that the elderly lady was in total control of hermental capabilities and knew exactly what she was doing.

More so, she made herself untrustworthy by heavy contradicting statements, several times in Court.No property sale revocation rights were granted.

How bad can it get?

In March 2008 this lady of highly advanced aged locked up the villa where she still had the right to stay on and moved into an old age home. As she is near 100 years of age, this is causing problems for the buyers. Nobody is obliged to notify them, should the elderly lady pass away. There is no need to let her consulate know about such an event, either.

Usufruct property is taking its toll:

No law permits the title deed holders to do anything because, the elderly lady has 'usufruct' which means the right of using the property which in her case allows to return to it, although, she most probably would not be physically able to do so, now.

When will a solicitor assist most?
Of course, once real criminal property fraud in Tenerife has been committed... Have you heard of any Tenerife fraud cases?

However, judges classified the case with the lady who is now in a retirement home as straight forward dispute where all doubts could be easily cleared.

Here, is a fraud case by Tenerife News which was published, a long time ago.

There are so many more incredible facts to this story of property with strings attached. Unfortunately, I could not state them. The buyers don't want me to reveal more about it.

A good real estate solicitor would most probably have sniffed a hook and catch regarding the villa property deal with the elderly lady and would have thought of a clause or something to prevent the trouble reported.

By the way, no Tenerife real estate agent was involved in this deal.

Please, go from Tenerife property to Tenerife property fraud to learn what else can happen before you buy property in Tenerife. To keep eyes and ears open is the best start.

By the way, some Tenerife property with trouble was not involved with timeshares Europe nor set up in a unique property sharing private way which is absolutely possible.

Disclaimer: I am, of course, not responsible in case of any mistake made by any lawyer or solicitor when you purchase Tenerife property. Nevertheless, I recommend strongly that you take the important step of seeking his advice.

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