The advantages of contacting a specialist firm when homeowners’ associations have construction defects.

A newly managed homeowners’ association with construction defects.

Property administrators very often face the following scenario: a newly formed homeowners’ association where all kinds of problems and defects appear as a result of the building being poorly handed over: cracks, damp, standing water, small parking spaces, a badly sized access ramp, poor window insulation, water loss from the swimming pool, etc.

Far from improving, the situation gets worse as time goes on, with more and more owners affected and impatient for a solution. It is not unusual for the property administrator to feel overwhelmed: what needs to be done? What is the first step? Should a complaint be made to the Consumer Affairs office? Should letters be sent to the building contractor? Should a technician be hired to prepare a report on the damage? Will that report be valid for a later trial if negotiations with the developer or building contractor fail? Who negotiates, and how? Which law firm should I hire? Will it be very expensive? And what if the court case goes badly because of the incompetence of the firm or of the technician who prepared the report?

The answer to all these questions is clear: the best option, without doubt, is to entrust everything to a firm specialising in this type of claim, so that it takes care of everything. If DPcon is the firm chosen by the property administrator, there are several additional advantages:

• DPcon takes care of everything, from the preparation of the Expert Report by an architect specialising in building pathology, the prior formal demand to the party responsible for the damage (developer, building contractor, etc.), filing the lawsuit, and following the matter through until the corresponding compensation is obtained (even if the case drags on over time, through several stages: first instance, appeal, enforcement, etc.).

• The proven experience of our experts, all of them specialists in building pathology and used to confirming and defending their reports in court . And, on the other hand, the track record of our legal department, made up of lawyers specialising in construction law, with a very high percentage of successful cases of the same kind over several decades. Choosing our firm is playing it safe and knowing that the homeowners’ association will be satisfied with its choice and with the work carried out.

• Where the homeowners’ association has little cash but the damage is very clear, DPcon can offer, after assessing the viability of the case, to work under a no-win, no-fee (cuota litis) agreement. This means the client (the homeowners’ association) would pay absolutely nothing for handling the claim (no fees for the architect who prepares the Expert Report, nor even for the court representative (procurador) or the lawyer in the court proceedings), in exchange for signing an engagement letter assigning to DPcon a percentage of the compensation eventually obtained (normally, in return for covering all the costs of the proceedings, it is agreed that DPcon will keep 20-30% of the compensation obtained).

• In parallel, DPcon has collaboration agreements with the property administrators it regularly works with. As a result, both parties benefit from working together on an ongoing basis.

If you would like more information, contact us.

DPcon Reclamación Daños Constructivos.