Estate agent is asking for a fee to change electricity and water supplier: is this correct?

I have recently bought and water and electricity was cut off as vendor hadnt paid bills. Lawyer ensured that outstanding bills were paid prior to purchase and vendor advised that reconnection bill was sent to him which he paid. Looks like there has been outstanding bills to pay as I was advised by my lawyer that I if I had to pay it would cost around 80 euros each utility. Looks like there has been some outstading bills not paid. I would check with your lawyer.

Thanks for your reply finmar I think my Estate Agent is at it.I was told by them that the bills hadnt been paid by vendor due to the person who paid the bills death thus his bank account being frozen and that he [The Agent] had now been instructed by the vendors to reconnect and he is now passing it on to me

we have just bought in eagles nest ,, villamartin  740 to reconnect electric,,,people do not tell you all add ons.

so people should add on a good 10 grand on price for taxes ect

cheers aron

Hi Aron thanks for your reply the fact they told me they where getting it reconnected on behalf of the vendor is why I dont think the cost to me should be so high

Why are you dealing with the estate agent over this. You should be speaking with your abogado (solicitor)

Fro  what you have said it doesn't sound quite right and as others have said you MUST make sure that ALL bills have been paid before you buy. Don't forget that its not just water and electricity but land taxes and duties. As far as I'm aware all debts will transfer with the property to you unless you have a good lawyer who will earn their money by checking this in detail. I recently bought in May 2015 and mine was absolutely scrupulous in this respect. For what its worth I used White and Baos in Denia and I can praise them enough. They also organised a retention with the seller to cover any outstanding issues that could have arisen and also oversaw the transfer of all utilities.

I don't want to worry you unnecessarily but you should be very careful, especially as you have pointed out that the previous owner died and may have left debt.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Colin

Thanks Colin I have emailed my lawyer today to clarify the matter and to let him know I will not be paying any outstanding debts and am awaiting his response although in fairness to him he did tell us at the start that he would be checking for any outstanding debts as part of the contract and would be holding back some money I honestly b

elieve it is the Estate Agent who is trying it on 

That's good to hear. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your time in Spain.

We are still getting used to life here but don't regret a thing.......so far :-)

We have recently purchased in November 2bed apartment I think any debt to that property stays with the property not the seller this is why your solicitor should hold back a percentage of the money till they are convinced all bills have been paid. May take 6 months.

We have recently purchased in November 2bed apartment I think any debt to that property stays with the property not the seller this is why your solicitor should hold back a percentage of the money till they are convinced all bills have been paid. May take 6 months.