BUYING PROPERTY IN SPAIN.have you bought recently?

Question

I AM GOING TO BUY A PROPERTY IN SPAIN I NEED A TRUSTWORTHY AND LEGAL SOLICITOR WHAT WILL NOT RIP US OFF.CAN ANY-ONE WHO HAVE RECENTLY BOUGHT IN SPAIN RECOMEND ANY-ONE.AND HOW DID IT GO FOR YOU CHEERS

Answer 1

One way of finding a reputable lawyer is to contact the biggest firm of Chartered Accountants  near to where you are buying and ask to speak to one of the partners who will be more than pleased to advise. Use their lawyers.

If you can speak Spanish, ask your local bank manager.

Regarding searches at the local property registry, I did my own. At least I knew that the company I was buying from owned the land!

Notaries are supposed to be independent but they usually side with the locals. Take someone with you who can read what you are signing, a lawyer or your bank manager.

Spain is no worse than England for buying a house.

If you are taking out a mortgage with a Spanish bank, you can be sure that they look after their investment.

Answer 2

As I work in property and have been thirty years living in Spain, both Madrid and Valencia - I say the first thing is to always just get a registered  lawyer, virtually all areas now have access to both English/Irish lawyers, have everything checked - the lawyer does the ground work, checking on the original owners, if deeds are correct and if there are any outstanding loans due on the property. Get a flat conveyancing fee from the lawyer up front.

I work hard to help my clients before and after the sale to make sure all is correct and people can enjoy their new home.  Get an agent and lawyer who is part of the local community, long term agents have experience and knowlege on the great life here - A notary does not do the same work as a lawyer both are needed. Be sensible in where you buy, a "bargain" usually isn't!

Answer 3

We got our solicitor through an expat recommendation http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/informat...

Answer 4

we bought in andalucia in may this year. we used the abogado recommended by the agent. in spite of all the messages above, it didn't go too badly, but i would agree with the advice. find a spanish lawyer who speaks english, don't go with the agent's recommendation.

thing to remember about the agent is that in this country they get their 2% or whatever it is. in spain you don't have an agent each. so the seller tells the agent that they want 200,00 euros, and he tells you the price is 300,000. he will pocket the difference. and his mate, the local abogado from the same village is on a backhander to keep quiet.

in the end we bought our house, love it, and are happy. but only later did we find out that everyone else is very happy too, as they all have a lump of our money!

and it looks to me that the guy at the top of your replies is an agent in france!

Answer 5

You actually don't need a solicitor until you have made your purchase............then both buyer and seller go to the notario to hand over the cash/cheques and sign the escitura(deeds), after the solicitor asks if both parties are happy, and have been paid by the buyer.................

Its a much easier system than in the UK, the seller must produce all  his last bills, similar to the UK, if in doubt of the seller, you can take the address of the property to the local land office and check he (they)  does actually own the property, if going through an agent, the seller will be expected to leave 3% tax if they are/ is an ex-pat, returning to the UK or not buying other property  -   not sure what the going rate is for a spanaird? sellers often get refunds, depending on circumstances, but a percentage is always paid.

We have been here 25 years, never had any problems at all, but many folks have, but they were mainly in the Valencia area, I am down on the costa del sol, there are bandits down here also, but in general, agents help the buyers enourmously, if they fail so do they!

Hope this helps a little, folks get scared to death by the odd bad stories, but in general its fine here, and you will love being here, we do, lets face it according to all news reports, UK is getting one h**l of a place to live, come and join us all here!

Answer 6

Despite what you may have been told or heard the majority of Solicitors in Spain are proffesional honest and trustworthy. I do not say all because as in all walks of life and countries there are exceptions. Chose a solicitor of your choice not recomended by the selling agent or developer, and chose one perhaps from a town nearby not in the immediate town where you wish to purchase.

A holding deposit of circa 3,000 euros will be taken to secure the property and the price agreed, this will be held by either the agent or a solicitor in a client fund account. The reservation contract should indicate if the purchase is subject to satisfactory survey or bank valuation and you should ask for a receipt for this payment.

A purchase contract (compra venta) will be drawn up and agreed by both your solicitor and the vendor/vendors solicitor, this will stipulate the terms of purchase and completion dates. On agreeing and signing this contract you will normally be expected to pay a total of 10% of the agreed purchase price (minus the holding deposit paid). At this point the purchase contact become legally binding to both parties and the monies paid released to the vendor.

If you decide not to proceed following this point you will lose your monies paid unless there is a legal reason which does not allow the sale to proceed. If the vendor does not proceed under Spanish Law you will be entitled to double the monies paid, this will be written into the contract.

Before accepting the contract your solicitor will have obtained a "nota simple", a document that will identify any debts registered against the property, there will often be a mortgage identified. They will also ask for latest copies of utility bills and local taxes paid.

At the notary (official registar) a representative of the bank will be there to officially discharge any existing mortgages (if there is one) Also just prior to the appointment the notary office will have carried out another nota simple to ensure that the property can be transfered free of charges and encumberances. If the vendors are non resident you will make a payment of 3% in favour of the Spanish Tax Authorities, this is to cover the potential capital gains of the vendor and is deducted from the selling price of the property, your bank or solicitor will make these arrangements. Following the signing of all the necessary paperwork and payments of monies etc, you will be given a "copia simple" an abridged version of the escritura, this will prove your legal ownership of the property in the period it takes recieve the official registered documents (can take several months).

It is advisable to avoid paying "black money" by underdeclaring the purchase price of the property, the Spanish Tax Authorites are becomming quite vigilante in stopping this process.

With the exception of some rustic properties there are seldom any major problems. Sometimes when buying a resale a property may have been extended without it being added to the escritura, check your sales details against the copy of the ecritura which your solicitor will have had before drawing up the compra venta, if it differs make it a condition of sale to be amended, as long as the extensions are legal this is easy to do but obvioulsly the cost of this should be bourne by the vendor. Alternatively you can elect to do this yourself after completion but this should be reflected in the agreed price, your solicitor should advise costs.

This is the typical process for a typical resale, however there are always exceptions.

Hope all goes well in your property hunt and if you need any help or advice contacts below

Answer 7

Well I could recommend a good lawyer if you were in my area but also the British Embassy publishes lists of English speaking lawyers who can help you  see http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet... for the page which lists lawyers in the area served by the Malaga consulate.  Although you dont need a lawyer, I recommend to use one and in any case the notary will make sure as far as he is able that all is at least legal although he/she doesnt act for either side.  Prices are considered high in many Spanish areas at the moment but if you have got a good deal then go for it.

Note that the lawyer and the notary are two totally different functions.  The lawyer acts for a client, the notary is like the registrar in the UK and applies the law.

Answer 8

Whatever you do, DON'T use the services of the agent's notary - seldom will they act in your interests alone. My wife and sister-in-law own a property in Torrevieja, just south of Alicante and they have had the services of an excellent notary (that's what they're called out there) and the firm continues to represent their interests some 15 years on. As I don't know where you are proposing to purchase the property, I would suggest that it makes sense to contact a solicitor in this country and ask if they know of a reputable firm out in the area where you intend to purchase. This should be a simple enough task for them ! Possibly another place to go would be the Ayuntiamento (Town Hall to you and me !) and ask if they have any reputable firms inj the locality where you intend purchasing. Whatever you do, DON'T leave your common sense in the Airport Departure Lounge ! Good Luck anyway and many happy holidays out there !

Answer 9

Hi

I own a property in Spain and just buying my second, I can recommend my lawyers - very thorough and trustworthy

http://www.martinezechevarria.com/eng/in...

They have offices in Marbella, Malaga, Alicante, Almeria, Murica, London, Nize, Sofia, Bourgas, Bodrum, Natal, Coast of Morocco, Bucarest, Italy, Algarve

I will try and email you privately to give you my name so you may use it as a recommendation

Answer 10

If i were you i would not purchase in spain,try looking at France, it is a lot better regulated country than Spain. There are laws in place to protect the investor as well as the developer. Lifestyle or investment, France is definitely worth a look at, there is a scheme called a leaseback that you should check out, local finance available, guaranteed rents, personal usage attached with some developments. if you want to know more go to http://www.purchasepropertyinfrance.com. Don't know enough about spain to give any more details but check out that website its worth a look

Answer 11

Firstly, do not use a Solicitor recommended by the agent, try to find your own by speaking to other ex-pats who have bought over here. You will hear some horror stories, but that's the same throughout Europe. If you can, approach 2 or 3 to get a quote from them, and ask them what's included in the fees, i.e. changing the council tax to your name, changing the utility bills to your name etc. When you go to the Notary to sign your Escritura - Title Deeds - take an independant translator who will translate every word for you, not just 'this is you, this is the sellers, this is the price' you need to know exactly what you are buying and what clauses are in the Deeds - if any. Also make sure your Translator is legal, then if there is a problem in the future you have some come back because they have to sign the Deeds with you as being truthful and having given you a true translation. They will also interpret between you and the Notary. Ask him/her any questions you may have about the Deed. A Notary is independant but obviously doesn't know every property that is sold, so if he doesn't know the answer he can find out for you. He cannot, contrary to what an earlier person said, deal with all your legal problems in the future. They are there solely to verify the signing of legal documentation, to ensure that they are drawn up correctly and registered with the appropriate registries.

It is also worth going to the local Town Hall with a copy of the deeds, which a reputable agent should give, it's called a copia simple, take an interpreter if necessary, if you're paying them they're usually on your side, and ask as many questions as you can.

I can only help you with lawyers in Costa del Sol, but any more info let me know and Good Luck, if you buy right you'll have a great life here in Spain.