What "should" a Spanish Abogado do for a UK non-resident buying in Spain ?

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AndyLucyOne
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What "should" a Spanish Abogado do for a UK non-resident buying in Spain ?

Postby AndyLucyOne » Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:28 pm

Is there a minimum baseline level of professional service that an Abogado should provide to a UK non-resident buying a property in Spain ?
What "must" an Abogado include, and what is included in normally accepted practice ? What would "better" and "best" practice include ?
Is there a code of conduct or a governing body ?

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Wicksey
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Re: What "should" a Spanish Abogado do for a UK non-resident buying in Spain ?

Postby Wicksey » Sat Jan 13, 2018 11:19 am

For a start I would use a gestoria not an abogado. In our experience (this has been the case on two occasions) our own gestoria has had to do a lot of extra work as the abogado the other party was using was useless (and I was told they were expensive). What they are required to do by law I don't know but checking and translating the deeds is one job they should do before you sign anything at the notary, plus obtaining a nota simple and checking there are no outstanding debts on the property. Our gestoria has also handled changing the IBI, electricity and other utilites into our name too. As our properties have been campo ones she also obtained a letter from the town hall to say that there was no outstanding actions relating to its legality.

If it is a campo property then I would say it's up to the buyer to satisfy themselves that the land plans are correct. I know of several people in the past that have ended up with the wrong plot of land on their deeds. It saved us a lot of hassle when we bought our last house having a meeting with the neighbour to agree the boundaries as this threw up a problem which we managed to solve before going ahead with the purchase. Whoever acts for a purchaser will never normally go to the property to check that the catastral plans are correct. As in the UK, you are usually given a plan of the land/property and asked if it is correct.

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Re: What "should" a Spanish Abogado do for a UK non-resident buying in Spain ?

Postby AndyLucyOne » Tue Jan 16, 2018 3:23 am

Ah, thanks, Wicksey.

Does a gestoria also do the lawyer bit, or is he an extra intermediary agent/fixer (i.e. if you have a gestoria do you still need a lawyer) ? My abogado did email me a nota simple and a copy of the escritura, but didnt turn up to the notary appointment as arranged (the seller's agent had to act as translator instead) and doesn't respond to questions about IBI/basura/utilities .. or even queries about the content of the nota simple and escritura - I had to insist on a change to the escritura before signing it in front of the Notary.

Am I expecting too much from an abogado ? This is someone I have entrusted with a PoA, however I would like to undo this as soon as all the duties of a lawyer (including registering the property in my name) have been fulfilled. I feel that I have basically been mugged £1000 for little more than a filing clerk.

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Re: What "should" a Spanish Abogado do for a UK non-resident buying in Spain ?

Postby elusive » Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:50 am

Imo you dont need a abogado (lawyer) a gestor is capable of doing all the things you require. If you hire a lawyer you will be charged lawyers fees instead of gestor fees.

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Re: What "should" a Spanish Abogado do for a UK non-resident buying in Spain ?

Postby El Cid » Tue Jan 16, 2018 11:18 am

And lawyers fees are far far higher than a gestor. People used to the UK system always expect to use a solicitor for a house purchase but all they usually get is a low paid conveyancing clerk to do the work. If the partner did the work it would be very expensive.

In Spain they don't have a solicitor in the same way that they do in the UK. The lawyer is a highly trained professional who spends a lot of his time in court, hence the fees.

A gestor is better qualified in many areas particularly the boring bureaucracy. They also tend to know there way around the town hall planning department etc. If you find that his work throws up any legality issues, then that may be the time to get a lawyer involved but not before.

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Re: What "should" a Spanish Abogado do for a UK non-resident buying in Spain ?

Postby Wicksey » Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:13 pm

I think the others have answered your questions about using a gestoria, but I would say it's a dreadful service if they didn't turn up at the notary! That's one of the most important things, to get your own representative to translate the escritura and challenge any areas that are not clear and to have obtained a nota simple on the day if possible. They should have checked and been satisfied before the signing that all the utilities have been paid up to date as well. I think I would be wanting a big reduction in their fees if they didn't do the main part of the job for you! I would find a gestoria to do the changes to the utility contracts and also to double-check the escritura is all in order too in due course.

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Re: What "should" a Spanish Abogado do for a UK non-resident buying in Spain ?

Postby AndyLucyOne » Wed Jan 17, 2018 3:14 am

What would a Gestor/ Gestoria cost ?


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