In Canada as in the UK and USA deposits and in fact all real estate payments are held by a solicitor in a trust or escrow account, separate from their own business bank accounts. I feel quite secure in handing over funds under these circumstances. Are notarios in Spain obliged to handle funds in a similar fashion? Their Mexican counterparts are not and most real estate transactions in Mexico are made through escrow accounts in the US so that buyers have some security when depositing large sums of money.
In Canada as in the UK and USA deposits and in fact all real estate payments are held by a solicitor in a trust or escrow account, separate from their own business bank accounts. I feel quite secure in handing over funds under these circumstances. Are notarios in Spain obliged to handle funds in a similar fashion? Their Mexican counterparts are not and most real estate transactions in Mexico are made through escrow accounts in the US so that buyers have some security when depositing large sums of money.
In my limited experience the Spanish notarios do not handle funds. When we have bought/sold in Spain a representative of the bank(s) has been present to oversee the transfer of funds when the exchange takes place. All the notarios ever seem to do is read the contract, check the IDs of those present, and act as if the sun shines out of their a**e.
In our experience, our lawyer TOLD us the deposit would be held in an escrow account. In fact they handed it over to the builder and the property was never built!!
It seems that Spanish solicitors have an iffy track record regarding real estate transactions. Has anyone used a UK based solicitor and if so how were the local spanish records checked?
Shakeel,
I agree with you that a local spanish lawyer would assist in the title searches. The difference being (hopefully at least) that the UK solicitor would have an ongoing working relationship with the counterpart in Spain, who would not want to risk harming future business through sloppy work.It would be more expensive and take a little longer but there would be some assurance that the property would have been researched correctly.
“The difference being (hopefully at least) that the UK solicitor would have an ongoing working relationship with the counterpart in Spain, who would not want to risk harming future business through sloppy work”
If only it worked on those lines. Do you not think that a good Developer would build a nice block , deliver what he promised to do so. In order that he gets repeat or recommended business from satisfied owners. Spaniards dont think on the basis of nurturing a relationship. Their thinking is here & now.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue to use the website you agree to our use of cookies. You can find out more here. Accept
Cookies
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.