- This topic has 8 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 2 months ago by
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The British Embassy in Madrid has issued a warning to British property buyers in Spain to act with ‘extreme caution’ due to property scams and bent lawyers. The embassy went on to say that prospective buyers should not feel safe simply because they are using a lawyer. No doubt the UK national press may pick this up soon but you heard it first on here. 🙂
I think this kind of warning is long overdue and needs more publicity.
http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=744587682
http://www.thecourier.es/?p=6032 -
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You have to wonder where the British Embassy were during the crooked boom days on the Costas 🙄
There are still plenty of mis-selling agents and Developers in Spain, dodgy lawyers still being recommended by them, dodgy TV programmes and exhibitions promoting ‘now is the time for Brits to buy’ when it clearly is still not the case.
Even a British lawyer friend of ours who amongst other things did a lot of conveyancing of Spanish property with his contacts and Spanish speaking, also fell foul of the Spanish property minefield and scams after he’d bought his own Spanish property despite his rigorous checks. Now his property has depreciated by some 50% in value and, he’s also had to pay the Town Hall extra money to legalise his paperwork 🙄
Just makes you wonder if an expert gets shafted, will Spain ever be safe to buy in ❓
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The spanish market will recover in one of two ways. They bring in stringent legislation cleaning up the conveyancing process –above all making it illegal for one lawyer to act for both parties -requiring an exchange of contracts between vendor and buyer when a first deposit is paid .Making it a requirement that an agent states his commission to both vendor and buyer in writing at the outset and that lawyers who are corrupt are struck off permanently and not protected by the collegia. Either that or it will be a no go area and prices will only recover when they fall so low that the spanish start buying them up for next to nothing. The next thing if they want foreign buyers is to ease the Inheritence tax rules so that a buyer can pass on property to a relative without finding lots of tax -if only that the tax is rolled over until it is eventually sold -preferably with a writing down % for each year it has been held. And finally to increase the exemption amount for CGT from the ridiculously low level of 7500 euros. Spanish taxes are a joke if they are open for business .What is now needed is a concerted effort to bring an action in the European Parliament to get Spain to clean up its act.
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Fully,agree. The two most important things that you have over looked is the responsibilty of the Notary. I do not beleive that a Notarty is not aware as to the legal status of a development i.e. is it legal or not !!!!
Compensation without undue delay for the people who had bought, good faith or NOT. The system should protect the parties so that the question of bad faith should not enter into the equation.
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@shakeel wrote:
Fully,agree. The two most important things that you have over looked is the responsibilty of the Notary. I do not beleive that a Notarty is not aware as to the legal status of a development i.e. is it legal or not !!!!
Compensation without undue delay for the people who had bought, good faith or NOT. The system should protect the parties so that the question of bad faith should not enter into the equation.
A notary should have to do the necessary steps to check if for example a project is legal or not. Can’t really understand the need to hire a lawyer when you pay the notary wasts amounts of money for that service. Today it’s just a way for the goverment to make sure the correct taxes are brought in. Their way to make sure you don’t money launder is also very stupid since you can easily if you wanted to, fake the paper trail.
Where I live we don’t even have notaries for anything else than overseas “things” and the agents have insurances that pays out if they have missed stuff like that. To me it’s a much more well functioning system.
Transaction costs are also much higher in countries where notaries are in use.
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Ardun, they should do all that you mention. If one is buying an independent property or a Finca with land etc. I would employ a Lawyer & make his life hell in asking him pertinent questions no honest reply. I would walk away.
However if I am buying an off plan apartment as I have done a number of times and have not used a lawyer. My reason for not using a lawyer is that the contracts are for a particular development and have been drawn with a general terms & conditions which apply to all the properties for sale or sold in the block so my contract should be the same so there is security in numbers
In addition to the above I obtain a track record of the Developer & their reputation in the market, documents such as planning permission etc. I get this done by my Spanish friends. I appreciate not all the forum members will have the benefit of having Spanish friends. In such a situation I would use an english speaking Gestor, much cheaper & effective than a dishonest lawyer charging 1% of the purchase price & not acting in the clients best interest e.g. in the pocket of the Developers, not obtaining bank guarantee, not replying to email, not checking embargos and holding the file as a lien..
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