Lagrange-Soderev

12 Juillet 2012

Just received quarterly rent into my bank account from Soderev and it's

a fraction of what it should be. Anyone else in this situation? The

residence is Le Clos des Vignes in Bergerac.

Soumis par sandboh le

I am from Le Domaine de Bourgeac development in Paradou. There are several other forums (in French) that have the same issues.


As my French is somewhat limited in regards to legal and the law, I agree with the proposal from Finlay.


I also agree with the proposal from Finlay.

I am from the Residence Aspen in La Plagne.

Soumis par Justme le

My view at the moment is that I would like to exit the leaseback scheme

( fermes de Samoens and Peemor pen). There is a list of co-proprietors

on the minutes of the

Meeting but it does not include contact addresses but at least we could

tick them off if they make contact via here or Steve Rushtons forum.

The other thought that occurred to me is that if there are a number of

us wanting to self rent we could use the same key holder / cleaner for

changeovers

We also need to keep up with the progress on the possible cases being

bought against the leaseback developers / managers / sales agents etc

by the other forum member as this may set precedents for us too

Portrait de cordiez
Soumis par cordiez le

The 4 months time-limit for filing insolvency claims

begins from the date the Order from the Court putting

Soderev into Safgeguard is published in a legal gazette.

The filing of claims (Declaration de Creance) therefore a

totally is separate issue from negotiations with Soderev

and/or its Trustee (the 'Administrateur Judiciaire').

Having recently acted for a group of Irish and British

leaseback owners that faced a similar situation with

another subsidiary of Lagrange, I can advise that no

formal 'association' of owners needs to be formed - as a

French solicitor, I often act on behalf of group of

owners that does not form a legal entity.

It is too early to anticipate what negotiations with

Soderev might entail. Presumably, a drastic lowering in

rents and increase in those charges which are for owners

to meet. Depending on what Lagrange will try to impose

upon owners, there may be separate groups in respect of

each development. Once cannot rule out a degree of

interaction between each group, especially where one

successful fight or negotiation creates a precedent.

Corresponding with a large group of individual owners

often proves problematic and therefore it would be a good

idea if owners were to appoint one of them as their

spokesperson for the purposes of rasing queries and

communicating instructions.

Soumis par amjdxb le

Justme,


I think we will be stuck with whatever management company the consensus of owners accepts. Even if you opt to buy yourself out of the leaseback horror, the day to day running of the place will be undertaken by either the same or a new entity placed there by the receivers. Fees will be levied by that management company which we would all be liable to pay, in the same way that 'classic' owners currently pay now.


I believe the only way we could impose our own management system on the place would be if there was a complete rejection of any new offers by everyone and then all owners would have to form a co-op and source a management company to undertake the day-to-day running.


I don't believe we would have the rights to remove ourselves completely from the system. I could be wrong, but I'd be surprised if there was a precedent for an owner of one of these apartments to bring in his own cleaners for example. How would they deal with the common facilities such as the pool otherwise? You and your guests being deliberately excluded on the grounds that you don't pay so cannot use...?

Soumis par Justme le

I was assuming that if you are a classic owner the cleaning linen etc

inside that apartment would be your own responsibility and this is what

I was referring to. Maybe Steve can confirm?

Soumis par timie7 le

Afternoon everyone.


Just heard the news after chasing Lagrange. We have an appartment at Les 3 Glaciers in Mont Chavin. If anyone who is an owner within this residence and wants to get in touch to discuss what can be done please give me a ring on +44 7717345027.


Regards,


Tim.

Soumis par Justme le

With regard to joint action I don't mind making a start on things by

drawing up a database of owners who would like to be involved in

group action. I am not sure I can take the whole thing on due to work

commitments currently but we can see.

I would imagine useful info would be name, email address,

development, date lease started. Anything else anyone thinks should

be included?

If everyone is happy for me to do this I suggest you pm me the details

rather than use the forum

Kate

Hi Everyone.


We are new to the forum and are also owners at Peemor Pen. Nothing heard from Lagrange re the receivership, but no money has been paid for the last quarter and we are getting no response to e-mails and phones are ringing out when we try to call them.


Interestingly we were at our residence a couple of weeks ago and it was full the first week and almost full the second!! We've also just received back our occupation calendar for the winter season, stamped and agreed, so it seems some things are business as usual.


Kate - we've just registered on your thread regards joining the group and wouldbe happy to hear from anyone else who owns at Peemor Pen.


Sue

Hi


We are owners in Les Bastides des Chaumettes - based in Ireland and would be very interested in joining together with other owners in the development to see what we can do.



Colette

Hi Sarah, Our accountant came back with these questions which we will forward to our contacts in France and see what they come back with:


1. Is there a body corporate that can contract on behalf of the complex? Or can be gathered collectively and get legal representation in this matter?


2. How is the asset being protected i.e. is maintenance ongoing; is this at risk? Should alternative property management companies be approached


3. If Soderev cannot fulfil their obligations re rental payments but are continuing with maintenance can owners rent out directly or through alternative property management company?


4. What is the exact legal position? i.e. do you have to agree to a reduction in rentals or can it be imposed on you? I would imagine now that they have broken the contract by not paying rent, that their rights under the contract are void


5. What is the position re selling the property? Is there any legal restriction? Of course the property may be considerably less attractive to a potential buyer if the complex management is affected.


6. What is French mortgage law like? i.e. can you forfeit property like US or still liable for debt like Ireland (you may have considerable equity in the property but if not this could be attractive option)



Regards


Colette

Soumis par arnaud le

Hi, in the proof of debts do we need to mention all future

payments for the duration of the lease ? (9 years)

How do we calculate the raise of the rent overtime ?

Soumis par CJAce61 le

Hi we are new to the forum. We own a property in Le Roc Belle Face in Arcs 1600. I recieved a letter today from Soderev stating that Soderev has been placed under a safeguard procedure. It souds to me as if they are to continue trading with administrators overseeing things, although i am not sure. I have an interest only mrtgage with bnp paribas, but if i do not get lease payments the money will run out in about a year that i have in my french account. The development is only about 3 yrs old and we had an 11 year lease. I have contacted the bank today and forwarded the letter to them, and expressed my concerns that without any income eventually i will not have funds to pay my mortgage. I am waiting to see what they advise. I am going to seek legal advice to protect my property over here in case the worst happens and i have to walk away from my french property, that was meant to be my retirement pension!. Any advice would be helpfull, but my mortgage consultant is basically saying that after 6 months of non payment of mortgage they would place the property up for sale, and the sale normally takes a couple of years. Then they might come after you for the balance, but he feels this is unlikely. We have been paid the first 2 quarters lease payment, but have not had september payment. The document i recieved today says the lease payments will be on prorata temporis basis which i have no idea what that means. Any advice would be helpful, regards, Chris

Portrait de cordiez
Soumis par cordiez le

Please remember that creditors e.g. leaseback owners have

a set time to file a claim in respect of any unpaid rent

and charges that have accrued before 28 September 2012,

when the Court issued an Order putting the company under

Safeguard.

For overseas-based creditors, the time-limitation for

filing such a claim is 4 months from the date the Court

Order dated 28 September 2012 was published in a legal

gazette (23.10.2012) i.e. 22 February 2013. As from 22

March, any claim for unpaid rent, taxes and charges will

become time-barred.

Disclaimer. The information which the writer is

posting on this forum is for informational purposes only

and does not constitute legal advice, or create a lawyer-

client relationship. You should not act or fail to act

based on the information posted on this site without

first seeking appropriate, tailor-made, legal or other

professional advice about your specific facts and

circumstances.

Soumis par Rob 16 le

Hi. Just reading forum posts. I own a leaseback in St Gervais known as Les Arolles which is operated by Soderev. I am keen to get in touch with other owners of this development. We will need to be a co-ordinated group to have any chance of standing up to th eReceiver. I note Justme is putting together a list of owners. How do I join that list?


Rob

Soumis par Blotch (non vérifié) le

Hi All


I am an owner at Les Fermes de Samoens. Our owners association is still negotiating with Soderev. Without giving too much away I wondered how other properties were getting on. Has anyone reached and accepted a final deal? Has anyone had their lease terminated? Is there any news from any property who was not 'offered' an ammended lease?


We all seem to have retreated into our own development groups. It would be good to get an overall picture of where Soderev are in their negotiations.



Soumis par lpanes le

Hi All,


I agree with Blotch - sharing progress and negotiations helps all.We are also at LFDS and have received an offer which has not been accepted.

Soumis par tom667 (non vérifié) le

Hello

In our residence, we refused the new proposition from Soderev. So now we

are waiting they terminate (we hope) the lease...

Soumis par Cathy8 le

Futher to my last post, I'm getting no replies to e mails sent to Lagrange

in the last couple of weeks. These e mails were not about rent.

So does anyone know what's happening chez Lagrange- Soderev?

Can anyone explain the difference between Soderev and Lagrange? II

get the rent from Soderev but all my communications have been with

people in Lagrange. Sorry if this sounds really silly but it is confusing.

Soumis par Cathy8 le

Thanks Chelseablue.

It's from our January rent that the charges are taken from. Like you we

didn't get that until Feb 5 I . april was ok but now this! I'm worried

because I never had trouble getting reponses to e mails no matter what

it was about.

Portrait de Sarah
Soumis par Sarah le

Coming back a bit late to the forum (it has such a lot of

spam!!) but Blotch you asked for news of what had

happened to a development that was not offered an amended

lease.

Ours was not offered an amended lease. The rental

payment for Dec 12 was late, through some excuse about

not being able to configure their systems for VAT

changes. The rental payment for Mar 13 has not yet

arrived.

For owners who have not received an amended lease there

is a sense in which we cannot see matters ending well.

The recession continues to impact incomes and tourism in

general. It kind of feels as though this sauvegarde

process is extending the inevitable.

The properties are unsaleable (although 6 owners on our

residence are trying valiantly) so the long-term solution

for us would be running our own residence.

We should be using the sauvegarde process as a breathing

space to plan for alternatives but actually we are just

using the time to stick our heads under our collective

duvets.

Soumis par Justme le

We've received a letter today stating that they essentially have cash

flow problems and rents are late. They promise funds will be paid by

20th August! I won't hold my breath!Justme41102.8935185185

Soumis par amjdxb le

Yes, we've had an email from Soderev saying they've got problems with funds and they make some reference to trying to sort it all by 20th August. Like 'Justme' I'm not holding my breath. Looks like we're the latest in a long line of leaseback casualties.

Portrait de cordiez
Soumis par cordiez le

I am aware of the emerging scenario with Lagrange. This

is similar with what happened with another of its

subsidiaries, Resitel, in March this year. At the time, I

was acting for a group of Irish and UK owners who were

facing the same threats from Lagrange/Resitel.

If an individual owner does not agree to the addendum,

his or her lease may well then be cancelled by Soderev's

Receiver. In fact, the Receiver has the power to cancel

all leases pursuant to French insolvency law.

The issue is that for the property as a whole to retain

its leaseback status, no less than 70% of all owners must

let their apartment be managed by one same leaseback

company. This means that if 31% or more owners decide not

to sign the amendment agreement or 'Avenant', the

Receiver cannot rescind each of these owners' leases,

unless of course Soderev wants to get rid of the site

altogether...

There is chance that the Receiver will be cancelling a

number of leases. Some leaseback owners will sign the

amendment document whilst others may in the end be able

to keep their existing lease agreement in force.

http://www.solicitor.fr French

lawyers

Soumis par Cathy8 le

And what has been the results of the Resitel situation? Did any

residence manage to get better terms from Resitel? What happened

owners who didn't sign the addendum? What happened where 65% of

owners signed and the rest didn't. Were all the leases cancelled.? Has

Resitel pulled out of certain residences. It would be good to know

something of theResitel situation as we ponder our fate at the hands of

Soderev.

Soumis par Tom1964 le

Same here, got the letter from Soderev, like chelseablue, I

have a plece in Azay-le-Rideau.

Soumis par arnaud le

Hi, same problem for me with Soderev not paying rent anymore.

Next step, I guess they are going to try to negociate a new contract with at

least 50% less rent and all the service charges to pay, as their sister company

Resitel did (before going bust).

http://www.legavox.fr/forum/immobilier/loyers-impayes-reside nce-

tourisme-lagrange_37674_19.htm

You can leave your details here to regroup against Lagrange:

https://sites.google.com/site/gestionnairelagrange/home

looks like they have been loosing money for quite some time:

http://www.societe.com/bilan/soderev-tour/445103658201110311 .htm

it seems to regular practice with this type of "investment"

http://investirlocationmeublee.over-blog.com/article-un-exem ple-d-

investissement-lmnp-qui-tourne-mal-petite-xxxyse-chiffree-

79643007.html

Residence Les Chalets Edelweiss - La plagne - Soderev

Hi, only just seen this thread too... so many to read! I am a "classic" owner

at LFDS and one of about 15 owners who had a forum back all those years

ago when we were trying to get issues resolved. The forum is on the back

of my own website at www.alpsapartment.co.uk/forum - feel free to use it if

you wish, though I suspect there are already more people on here.

Someone asked the question of cleaning etc for classic owners. Yes, we are

totally on out own, and use a local couple who look after our apartment.

My worries are; A) maintenance of the site until this is all sorted... we have

bookings for the coming season which I am now concerned about. B) that

all the utilities (water/electric etc) are kept on... and the underfloor heating.

I don;t have the lease worry that you guys have - but am very much an

interested party.

Soumis par Withens le

Hi,


Just registered as a result of the Soderev safeguard proceedings.


I own an apartment at L'Ecrins Des Sybelles in La Toussuire, and so does my brother. Apart from the 2 of us, I think there may only be 1 more UK owner there.


I would be happy to join any group action in response to the Soderev default on the lease contract.


Thanks,


Andy

Soumis par TP603 le

Justme,


I am another of the unfortunates caught up in this Soderev horror show - we have a property in Peemor Pen also. I tried to PM you but apparently your inbox is full and you have exceeded your quota of messages. I wonder why!!


I agree that the only way forward in this mess is to group together.



Tom.

LES CHALETS de WENGEN.....Just got the same letter re Soderev last Friday. Have no idea how to proceed. Would love to get some help !


Paul

Soumis par G& L le

We've had the same letter.. Les Chalets Edelweiss , La Plagne 1800.

Looks like we'll have a double whammy, no rent plus we booked our

family ski holiday there in January, paying twice then

Soumis par conor le

In the same boat too, with Le Clos Des Vignes in Bergerac. We have the letter translated and it indeed looks bad. What is the general consensus now?

Soumis par Bobos le

Like a lot of other investors I am having trouble getting paid. As you know

Soderev is in the "Procedure de sauvegarde" I would like to here from other

investors at the Domaine de Bourgeac apartments that find themselves in the

same situation. with the view of sharing information and even combined

legal action. Possibly just to exchange thoughts.

Comme beaucoup d'autres investisseurs J'ai du mal à se faire payer. Comme

vous le savez est Soderev dans la "Sauvegarde de la procédure« Je tiens à

communiquer avec d'autres investisseurs dans les appartements du Domaine

de Bourgeac qui se trouvent dans la même situation. avec l'idée de partager

l'information et même combiner une action en justice. Peut-être juste pour

échanger des idées.

Soumis par Cathy8 le

Have just heard Soderev is in receivership (sauvegarde). So what's the

next step?

Soumis par Angie77 le


Hi All
We are in the same boat as many others here, have a place in Peemor Pen. Just received the letter yesterday. Are there many Peemor owners on here ?

Portrait de cordiez
Soumis par cordiez le

Lagrange / Soderev were put into Safeguard on 28

September. The Court's Order is yet to be published

however. You should shortly be receiving a letter from

the Receiver or the Creditors' Representative confirming

the same and inviting you to submit your claim.

There are 2 steps of action creditors should consider

taking, namely:

1. Filing a claim for unpaid rents with Soderev's

Creditors Representative. The process, which is called

'declaration de creance,' is is fairly formal;

2. As appropriate: Putting the Receiver on notice to

state whether he/she will cancel the lease. Unless the

Receiver says no to you/me, in writing, within one month,

then your lease gets automatically cancelled. Beware of

the fact that unless you enter into another leaseback

scheme/agreement within 12 months, part of the VAT rebate

you benefited from at the time of purchase will be due to

the French Treasury.

Many English-speaking leaseback owners are in the same

situation with regards to Soderev. It would be a good

idea if all joined forces and chose one of them to act as

a point of contact to coordinate legal representation.

Soumis par Oliver le

Hello

I'm a journalist for The Connexion, a paper for English-

speakers in France (or others interested in France). I'm

interested in writing about the problems in the November

issue, which we finish off tomorrow. If you want to

contact me about it I am on: 0033 (0)6 35 92 79 36 or

o.rowland@connexionfrance.com

Thank you

Oliver Rowland

www.connexionfrance.com

Soumis par sandboh le

Sorry guys, no time to translate, but here a comment from the other forum: http://www.legavox.fr/forum/immobilier/loyers-impayes-reside nce-tourisme-lagrange_39234_2.htm
Domaine de Bourgeac.

Les propriétaires ont 2 mois pour déclarer leur créances au
mandataire judiciaire. La marche à suivre est la suivante: regrouper en
association les propriétaires et faire représenter nos intérêts par un
avocat. Refuser catégoriquement tout avenant à notre bail, visant à
réduire nos loyers. Se regrouper par résidence. Négocier résidence par
résidence. La recherche d'un repreneur est prématurée à ce stade.

Portrait de Sarah
Soumis par Sarah le

Thanks to everyone for the invaluable information they have shared - it's generous of you all.


We have yet to receive our letter, but would be interested to hear from any owners at Les Bastides Des Chaumettes in Montauroux

Portrait de cordiez
Soumis par cordiez le

Here is how it translates: The owners have two months to

declare their claims to the legal representative. The

procedure is as follows: the owners form an association

and

to represent our interests by a lawyer. Categorically

refuse any amendment to our lease to reduce our rents.

Regroup per residence. Negotiate residence by residence.

Looking for a buyer is premature at this stage.

To that comment, I would add that for overseas-based

creditors, the time

limit is extended to 4 months instead of 2.

Source:



Leaseback-Issues&id=6391111">http://ezinearticles.com/?

French-Insolvency-Law---Leaseback-Issues&id=6391111cordiez41201.5202777778

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