I’m looking to buy in Spain and I’ve been trying to find a site where I can get some good impartial advice and help. It’s really difficult. There’s a lot of bits and pieces buried in various websites and forums, and a lot of it is linked to estate agents sites, so hardly impartial. There’s so many horror stories and nightmares out there I just don’t want to end up broke but wiser. There was a Trevor Macdonald documentary last week about british peoples houses being demolished.
Anyone found any good sites? I’ll even pay for good advice if I have to!
I dont know what happened to the rest of m y message above but originally I suggested you go to torrevieja.co.uk message board. Hoards of people there who have a wealth of experience and can answer most of your questions.
Thanks for the websites. The forums are very interesting indeed. I also found a site through google spanish-property-problems.com. Lots of food for thought.
The LRAU law ( Land Grab ) of Valencia can cause problems - particularly around new or proposed Urbanisations , but it´s execution is not as frequent as scaremongers back home would make out.
Get a reputable Estate Agent , a Good Abogado , and more importantly use your own common sense.
If you want to get good solid advice from ex-pats who have or are in the process of purchasing in spain you could look up some of the information on the Expats & owners abroad section of holiday truths.... Very good well run forum with tons of info from helpful knowledgeable people..
Just take care who you Buy with. try to AVOID ATLAS INTERNATIONAL and its sister company IBERIAN. or RESALE SPAIN Thay dont tell lies, but are VERY liberial with the truth, and forget to tell you things, like charges etc. and never give you a answer in writing. Here in Costa Blanca, ATLAS is a dirty word amoung the expats (except those employed by them)
Some quick advice: English firms who say they'll manage it for you will pass on all the accumulated fees and some. They'll claim the NIE takes days and costs a lot then they'll subcontract to a Spanish firm who will employ a "gestor". The actual process can take as little as ten minutes in a police station. You need a couple of passport photos and a filled in form downloaded from the web.
Get a Spanish lawyer who speaks English but learn Spanish too. Even being able to read some of the contract is an important step forward.
Be very wary of estate agents who promise to sort out things like electricity bills, council taxes, etc. Whatever they say, you will have to do it yourself.
Handle the money conversion yourself. Set up an offshore account and put the money in yourself. It's not complicated. By choosing a money broker to do the conversion, you can save yourself a lot of money. Open a current account in Spain as well and transfer money from the offshore Euro account into it. It's not as expensive as some of the horror stories predict.
It can be fun, but you have to take control. Lawyers make their money from your ignorance and the delays that can be caused.
