Solicitor required when selling property?

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    • #53587
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Is there anything in particular we have to watch our for when selling our property? We have an offer on our finca which we accepted. All the paperwork is in place. We are not taking any “black” money. I just wonder if the buyer can pull a hat trick at the notary or are all contracts standard?

      Sabine

    • #77544
      Inez
      Participant

      Its usual a standard arras type of contract and if you speak spanish you should be fine.

      Whilst many people do not engange a lawyer there is a paper trail after the event to look out for and a gestor can sometimes be very useful, but if you are well versed with procedure you should be fine!

      If you are worried you could ask the buyers lawyer to handle the transaction for a small fee!!!

      And yes it is a conflict of interest seemingly but dont forget the Notary has final say – ps you could contact the notary office as well and they will advise you!

    • #77560
      Anonymous
      Participant

      I would always recommend using a local lawyer both purchasing and selling.

    • #77561
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Thanks for that.

      I just occurred to me that I don’t know who the deposit money it being paid to if I don’t have a solicitor? Can I ask for this money to be paid to us (i.e. the vendors) as I don’t want it to be paid to the estate agent….or can I ask for my bank to hold it in trust for the buyer? Apparently the buyers are paying a holding deposit and then a 10% initial deposit.

      Sabine

    • #77562
      Anonymous
      Participant

      @Sabine wrote:

      Thanks for that.

      I just occurred to me that I don’t know who the deposit money it being paid to if I don’t have a solicitor? Can I ask for this money to be paid to us (i.e. the vendors) as I don’t want it to be paid to the estate agent….or can I ask for my bank to hold it in trust for the buyer? Apparently the buyers are paying a holding deposit and then a 10% initial deposit.

      Sabine

      Never ever pay a deposit to an estate agent on a resale always to the lawyer representing you. You must not hire the purchaser’s lawyer because they are working for the other party.

      If you had a lawyer it would be paid to his escrow account, a free service for you.

      As you are not hiring one of us it’s you who should receive the deposit. Make sure you sign an arras clause for the amount. Being a resale first they ought to pay you a small deposit of say 6.000 Euros to reserve the property and take it off the market. Then you ought to sign an options contract with a 10% value deposit paid to you.

      Naturally you can skip the firt part and directly request a 10% deposit of the value of the house. The contract must be worded so that if the purchaser fails to complete on a certain deadline (i.e. he cannot secure a mortage loan in time) you withhold the 10% and initial deposit.

    • #77576
      Anonymous
      Participant

      @Inez wrote:

      If you are worried you could ask the buyers lawyer to handle the transaction for a small fee!!!

      NO NO NO NO NO ❗

    • #77584
      Inez
      Participant

      Hey – I wouldnt recommend it at all but some people are more au fait with the legal system here and many spanish do all their own legals!

      I always found it strange after being involved with UK law, that both parties use the same lawyer.

    • #77613
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Do what Draken says and which ever way you decide to handle the sale take notice of his advice its always right. 🙂

    • #77682
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Thanks for all that. When we bought the finca we had a solicitor and we thought we should have one when we sell, too. It’s just that so many of them are incompetent that one wonders sometimes what the point is, if afterwards you find out that things weren’t done properly after all. Then again we hear many good stories as well and people having sold and bought their properties without any problems – seems to be a bit of a rarety these days though!

    • #77882
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Thanks for all that. When we bought the finca we had a solicitor and we thought we should have one when we sell, too. It’s just that so many of them are incompetent that one wonders sometimes what the point is, if afterwards you find out that things weren’t done properly after all. Then again we hear many good stories as well and people having sold and bought their properties without any problems – seems to be a bit of a rarety these days though!

    • #77685
      Anonymous
      Participant

      “It’s just that so many of them are incompetent that one wonders sometimes what the point is, if afterwards you find out that things weren’t done properly after all”.

      This is my argument not only that they the lawyers screw it up for you. You have to pay them for it as well. This can only happen in Spain.

      I will certainly not use a lawyer for selling as the buyer be aware should apply. Once you get the payment the notary has taken the capital gains Tax ( assuming that you are a non resident ) its not your problem as debts etc if any on the property will pass to the new owner.

      Just ensure that the Bank draft is not stolen/forged. If I was you I should go to the Bank/Branch to ensure that the bankers draft is made at the branch so you know that the draft is kosher.

      At this stage you should worry about your Bank not trying to rip you off with bank charges for cashing your sale proceed and being taken for a ride by the lawyer should not be the issue

    • #77885
      Anonymous
      Participant

      “It’s just that so many of them are incompetent that one wonders sometimes what the point is, if afterwards you find out that things weren’t done properly after all”.

      This is my argument not only that they the lawyers screw it up for you. You have to pay them for it as well. This can only happen in Spain.

      I will certainly not use a lawyer for selling as the buyer be aware should apply. Once you get the payment the notary has taken the capital gains Tax ( assuming that you are a non resident ) its not your problem as debts etc if any on the property will pass to the new owner.

      Just ensure that the Bank draft is not stolen/forged. If I was you I should go to the Bank/Branch to ensure that the bankers draft is made at the branch so you know that the draft is kosher.

      At this stage you should worry about your Bank not trying to rip you off with bank charges for cashing your sale proceed and being taken for a ride by the lawyer should not be the issue

    • #77688
      Anonymous
      Participant

      The bankers draft is being handed over at the notary and that completes the sale. Hence if I go with the draft to the bank the sale is already complete and what protection would I have if the draft was forged? When we bought, the notary went and checked that the draft was legal i.e. not forged which took her roughly 10 minutes to check….I can only hope that when we sell the notary this time will check as well.

    • #77888
      Anonymous
      Participant

      The bankers draft is being handed over at the notary and that completes the sale. Hence if I go with the draft to the bank the sale is already complete and what protection would I have if the draft was forged? When we bought, the notary went and checked that the draft was legal i.e. not forged which took her roughly 10 minutes to check….I can only hope that when we sell the notary this time will check as well.

    • #77690
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Naturally, you have to go to the Bank before the notary. You can ring up the Bank and they may confirm to you if the draft is Kosher.

      It is not the Notary job to verify the authenticity of the draft. He is employed to validate the sale & collect Taxes.

    • #77890
      Anonymous
      Participant

      Naturally, you have to go to the Bank before the notary. You can ring up the Bank and they may confirm to you if the draft is Kosher.

      It is not the Notary job to verify the authenticity of the draft. He is employed to validate the sale & collect Taxes.

    • #77693
      Inez
      Participant

      If you are a non resident than you will want to reclaim any unused tax from the retention monies – there is some paperwork to go through after the sale so you may be advised to use someone legally trained.

    • #77893
      Inez
      Participant

      If you are a non resident than you will want to reclaim any unused tax from the retention monies – there is some paperwork to go through after the sale so you may be advised to use someone legally trained.

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