Expert’s Advice

[Anonymous]

My brother and I have decided to buy an apartment in Costa del Sol area, somewhere near to the Golf Valley. He’s doing the looking and I am doing the organising the mortgage etc… We want a resale and what I can gather on this forum at present it’s a buyers market – am I right?
Also it appears to be a minefield to get a local solicitor who will act in your interests – does such a person exsist? Can you point me in the right direction? Does the solicitor act as your Guestor or is that a separate person?
Lastly the finance – it is best to shop around yourself or to use a broker? Has anyone experience of the broker suggested in this forum – I can’t be doing with the hard sell! We want a long mortgage term so we can keep the monthly payments down to start but with the flexibilty to pay it off when we like.
Is 10% on top of purchase price likely to cover all the relevant costs?

[Anonymous]

If you’re in the market for a 2 bed golf apartment then it’s currently a buyers market, yes. For a local solicitor there are a couple who post on here and are based on the Costa del Sol – one posts as Independent, I think. A gestor is a seperate person who specialises in Spanish bureaucracy, getting you registered in the municipal area, sorting out car papers and suchlike.

For a mortgage, independent mortgage brokers are to be avoided. None of them are actually backed by the capital needed, so all they do is tout your application round the banks and take a commission on top. About half ask for an up fron fee then don’t even bother themselves with trying to get you a mortgage. Basically, go to the bank. I like La Caixa.

10% is about right to cover all purchase costs, yes.

Where do you mean by Golf Valley, though? Is that Riviera del Sol?

[Anonymous]

Guest,

For lawyers:

http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/spanish_property_solutions_legal.htm

For mortgages, I broadly agree with Bert’s comments; many mortgage brokers in Spain increase the cost of your purchase whilst adding no value whatsoever. And a fair % of them are nothing but hucksters. However, a good broker can be of considerable help in sorting out the application and getting you the best mortgage terms, especially for long-term mortgages where seemingly small differences in conditions turn out to have a big impact on the lifetime cost of the mortgage. But it is absolutely crucial to work only with a good broker. As always, it boils down to individual integrity and decency.

Is the broker I recommend any good? Well, I think so, otherwise I wouldn’t recommend him, and nobody has ever complained to me about him.

http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/spanish_property_solutions_mortgage.htm

It’s certainly a buyer’s market.
Mark

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