The legal publisher SEPIN recently published a book written by our colleague Mateo Juan entitled “How to Recover Escrow Money for the Purchase of a House under Construction”. The book begins with a fun prologue by the director of the office, Joan Buades, who comments on the predictable historical framework of the late 60s, as well as the unusual fact that a law enacted in 1968 (Law 57/1968, of July 27, on collection of escrow in the construction and sale of houses) has remained in force until well into 2015.

In the body of the study, we analyze in depth one of the oldest problems, and at the same time on of the most controversial problems, related to the litigiousness of the agencies. We refer to those cases in which, either due to real estate fraud, insolvency of the developer, declassification of the land or by any other circumstance, a housing construction project cannot be completed and buyers who had made a down payment on the purchase price do not get their money returned.

How can this money be recovered? How does the developer and its public relations people respond? To what extent can the financial institution where the escrow money is deposited be held responsible for the return of those funds? What should the buyer do to prevent this unpleasant situation from ultimately leading to the irremediable loss of his money? All these issues are dealt with from a practical perspective, offering an up-to-date view on how this social issue has been addressed in the judicial arena. Also included is a section on “Precautionary Tips for Buyers” which sets out eight guidelines that can be followed to avoid the loss of invested capital.

Finally, the study closes with a section of jurisprudence notes selected and ordered by subject, which may well serve as a guide for professionals who are faced with these types of controversies. We consider that from the technical basis that is appropriate to any legal book, the author has managed to expose the current situation of scientific and jurisprudential doctrine in a realistic and schematic way, with continuous references to judicial precedents, which will allow the reader to easily approach this subject.