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I’ve been reading various websites and books about property sales and I have just put my property on the market. Some of them say that you don’t need a solicitor to sell, only to buy. Of course you can still pay for a solicitor if you wish but a good estate agent can do everything. Does anyone know if this is correct?
Also, I’m at a bit of a loss where to start with the paperwork involved with selling. Would a solicitor do most or all of it or not? All of my paperwork is 100% up to date and in order anyway. -
Simple: not a lot.
As a seller you will take the money and run. Its the buyer who has to be prudent. All the unpaid debts attached to the property becomes the responsibility of the buyer.
If anybody needs a lawyer is the buyer . As Spanish lawyers ( not all ) are incapable of discharging there professional or ethical responsibility, there no point even employing in the purchase.
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Sadie, I would advise any vendor to employ a lawyer. There are taxes to calulate and contracts that you need to have legally translated to ensure the buyers lawyer is not conning you.
You will employ a lawyer when you sell in the UK, you must do so here in Spain. There is no difference.
Good luck with the sale sadie.
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@shakeel wrote:
Simple: not a lot.
As a seller you will take the money and run. .
Not good advice Sadie…ignor it and get a good lawyer to represent your interests. It will not cost much compared to the piece of mind you will get.
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Just one example of why you need a Lawyer:
A friend sold and thought why not save the money as I am only selling. He signed the initial contract and the buyer paid 10% deposit. The contract had been drawn up by the buyers lawyer, no problem fairly standard…but a completion date had not been put in! The buyer then stalled, he was having trouble raising the money…it was open ended.
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Ofcourse Sadie 77, Will take a view. Please note that using lawyers is
a British thing. In Europe as we all know that the Napoleonic Notary system is used. I personally prefer the British system. I would like to expand on why I posted what I did. It was not some reckless comment.“There are taxes to calculate and contracts that you need to have legally translated to ensure the buyers lawyer is not conning you.”
The contracts can be translated by the Notaries official translator. The lawyers don’t do this in any case. The terms of the contracts/contracts
are prepared/incorporated by the Agent and when you read the translated contract you will know if the terms and conditions were as you agreed or not. So there is no reason to believe that the buyers lawyer is conning youThe Taxes of 3% will be deducted by the Notary, the final amount due can be calculated by a Getsor. Most buyers do not use lawyers specially if the buyer is Spanish.
In, UK the lawyer are necesarry as the lenders insist on. You can also use “Licence conveyours” The buyers lawyers will ensure that all debts are cleared and he is getting a good title, if its a leasehold property all the documents are checked and parties advised. Let us compare this in Spain. As you are selling and if there are any debts attached the new buyer has to pay them so as a seller you are not concerned. The Notory looks at the title and in the present climate in Spain nobody can guarantee if the titles are good or not. Again its the buyer who be worried about the title and not you. There is no leasehold and if you have not paid your electrcity, water or service charges the buyer has to pay for them, again as a seller its not your responsibilty. You would have heard “buyer be aware “and never seller be aware as the seller will have the money.
” It will not cost much compared to the piece of mind you will get” Its not the cost. You are paying for a service that is not needed apart from lining the pockets of an lawyer.
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@shakeel wrote:
Ofcourse Sadie 77, Will take a view. Please note that using lawyers is
a British thing. In Europe as we all know that the Napoleonic Notary system is used. I personally prefer the British system. I would like to expand on why I posted what I did. It was not some reckless comment.“There are taxes to calculate and contracts that you need to have legally translated to ensure the buyers lawyer is not conning you.”
The contracts can be translated by the Notaries official translator. The lawyers don’t do this in any case. The terms of the contracts/contracts
are prepared/incorporated by the Agent and when you read the translated contract you will know if the terms and conditions were as you agreed or not. So there is no reason to believe that the buyers lawyer is conning youThe Taxes of 3% will be deducted by the Notary, the final amount due can be calculated by a Getsor. Most buyers do not use lawyers specially if the buyer is Spanish.
In, UK the lawyer are necesarry as the lenders insist on. You can also use “Licence conveyours” The buyers lawyers will ensure that all debts are cleared and he is getting a good title, if its a leasehold property all the documents are checked and parties advised. Let us compare this in Spain. As you are selling and if there are any debts attached the new buyer has to pay them so as a seller you are not concerned. The Notory looks at the title and in the present climate in Spain nobody can guarantee if the titles are good or not. Again its the buyer who be worried about the title and not you. There is no leasehold and if you have not paid your electrcity, water or service charges the buyer has to pay for them, again as a seller its not your responsibilty. You would have heard “buyer be aware “and never seller be aware as the seller will have the money.
” It will not cost much compared to the piece of mind you will get” Its not the cost. You are paying for a service that is not needed apart from lining the pockets of an lawyer.
Be aware Sadie, Do not trust a Notary to translate a contract on the day of sale. They are dreadfull individuals who intimidate buyers and vendors alike.
Pay a GOOD lawyer to brief you on the sales contract well before the completion date so no Notary can force you to sign at the last minute.
I do not always agree with katy, but her example is so good, it in itself is reason enough to employ a lawyer. If you pay a lawyer, you have recourse if anything goes wrong. If you follow shakeels advice, you will have no hope of getting justice if anything goes wrong as the Notary will not be payed by you so he has no obligation to you.
Forget Gestorias, anyone who picked lettuces for a living last week can become one the next. they have no ruling body whereas a lawyer has to abide by the same rules as in the UK.
Simply forget Napoleonics and get a GOOD lawyer.
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“how much does a solicitor actually do when SELLING property? ” Was the question. At no stage Sadie777 asked if he/she has to use a lawyer or not. I for one will not be so callous to say to some one to not to use a solicitor
From this position I move forward.
I will not rely on the Notary to translate nor did I suggest that one should. What I said are the official translators who are qualified to translate in various languages in their respective fields i.e. legal. scientific, technical etc. The official translation has to be read by both parties and naturally if either parties do not agree to the terms they do not sign or even show up at the Notary.
I also did not say that a Gestor would be a substitute for the lawyer. I suggested the Gestor be used for the Taxes in this instance I am talking about capital gains tax that may or may not arise. Sadly there are no Accountants in Spain and their work is done by a Gestors whether they picked lettuce or brain a week ago. (By Accountant I do not mean a book keepers.)
I think we have read enough about the recourse against the lawyers/Notaries or their so called regulatory body. The sad truth is that you do not have a recourse and it for this reason that if I have to use a lawyer I would do it when buying & not when selling.
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Hello Sadie777.
In my professional experience the subject of whether or not to use a lawyer when selling depends entirely on the property, whether your Spanish is fluent, if you work fulltime, what you intend to do after the sale and also if the buyer intends to use a lawyer…and if so, then which specific lawyer!When I know the lawyer representing the buyer is an idiot (from past experience) then I’ll advise that the seller nips off to one I recommend immediately.
If the lawyer representing the buyer is known and trusted then from your point of view, get on the freebie train and don’t hire one yourself.
Also depends if you work fulltime. If your property is inland and complex with rights of way, water rights, recently changed status to suelo urbano, etc. …and you work full time, can you afford the time/money element of dealing with the multitude of questions and paperwork requests that will be thrown at you. Do you speak Spanish? Will you have to pay to get everything independently translated. All these things add up and you may end up wishing you’re hired a lawyer to do the job for you.
A decent estate agent (if you decide to use one of us scum of the earth, conniving, lying, thieving sharks) then a good one should also give you independent advice when a sale is achieved. If they are following decree 218 then they should even have most of the paperwork ready for any lawyer anyway!
Good luck with putting your property on the market.
Sarah Dodgson
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…….by the way, if you have a decent Agent like Sarah or Inez, who’s just not presenting you with a challenge, i know a ‘scum of the earth, conniving, lying, thieving, shark, who will fit the bill perfectly. In fact they even had a live thread dedicated to them until recently, but as the truth about them was out, they got all nasty, and we can’t comment any more!
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@shakeel wrote:
Simple: not a lot.
As a seller you will take the money and run. Its the buyer who has to be prudent. All the unpaid debts attached to the property becomes the responsibility of the buyer.
If anybody needs a lawyer is the buyer . As Spanish lawyers ( not all ) are incapable of discharging there professional or ethical responsibility, there no point even employing in the purchase.
Shakeel when one posts advise in SPI please try to be more responsible with your posts. Worst advise in months.
Foreigners should employ native lawyers both on purchasing and selling property, not necessarily local.
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