Best ways to find a property for sale - Page 2

thanks Don. I have seen this estate agent..... I will contact them directly though and have a chat. Thank you for the recommendation 

Hi. We bought our property in Caudete a few months ago via https://www.alicantedreamhomes.com/ (Mark and Becky).  They were super helpful through the whole process and went far beyond to help us with all the setting up of a bank account etc

I keep seeing people saying this but we've used Abogados recommended by the selling agents twice without any problems. It actually appeared to make things a lot smoother than it could have been because the agents were in close contact with the lawyers whilst we were 1500 miles away in England & this proved handy for chasing things up & getting paperwork completed in a timely manner.

And the costs were always reasonable too.

Has anyone had any bad experiences with agent recommended lawyers?

https://www.solicitorsinspain.com/articles/why-independent-spanish-lawyer-important 

People don't usually find out there is a problem until they try to sell the property and find that extensions have been added, underbuilds turned into living accommodation, enclosed terraces etc without permission, licences and updating the deeds.
If you use the solicitor the agent recommends, whose interests are uppermost? The agent who gives them loads of business and is impatient to get the sale over the line asap so they get their commission, or you? The same solicitor could also be working for the vendor.
It's not clear if you have ever been in the situation where the vendor pulls out but yes, it is true.

https://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/buying-property-in-spain/buying-a-resale-property/contracts/ 

Solicitors will also try to get you to pay ludicrous amounts to change utilities or pay taxes where a gestor could do it much cheaper.

Everybody says NEVER use the lawyers recommended by the estate agent. I understand why but a blanket NEVER, in my experience, is too general.

The estate agent we purchased our house through recommended a lawyer. We did our due diligence and all reviews were good so we used them. We couldn't have been more pleased with their service and they have since helped us with residency, driving licence and neighbour issues. In a nutshell, a fantastic recommendation.

To my mind you are just as much at risk choosing your own lawyer.

It is all down to doing your due diligence rather than taking a recommendation at face value.

We live inland in a primarily Spanish town. Maybe it is different in more touristy areas with a lot of foriegners. 

Our estate agent has been established in this area for 15+ years with an exemplary track record. 

At some point you have to trust someone.

Exactly.

Thank you for articulating the position so succinctly & accurately.

The first link in the reply above is an advertising piece from a law firm basically saying "there are a lot of dodgy lawyers out there but you can definitely trust us."

I'm about as cynical as they come but all this talk of "not trusting X under any circumstances" is far too binary for me.

Do your own checks, use your experience & judgement & you should be fine.

Yes we did with disastrous results. We used the"recommended" solicitor in 2006, who didn't tell us a month after completion there was going to be the start of the instalation just 50ft from our front door the new AVE train track being built, didn't tell us we would lose land to this trainline, didn't tell us the work would go on for 2years, during which time we were totally ransacked and lost 4.4 ton of belongings(as per weighbridge sheet) transported over by haulier and our insurance company, our bank Caixa, refused payout because we hadn't told them about the longterm building work for train which they claimed we should have known about and they would have refused cover deeming us as highly vulnerable) so we lost £20k+ of all our possessions,. He also didn't tell us our house was next door to the local basura (and it stinks when they,re burning). He didn't tell us the price on the escritura had been amended from 172k€ what we paid, to 139k€ until 5mins before going into notary, with a tale of "its good cos you,ll pay less tax" and €33k going under the table. So now anything over 139k on selling will be taxed. He also didn't tell us the escritura only lists 2/3rds of actual build size (this is a hard one to get my head round as who takes a tape measure when viewing a property?). Only discovered this years later on trying to get permission to glaze in a terrace. 

Obviously working for the benefit of the seller, ie the agent friend who paid him a nice bribe no doubt. This is the guist that can and does happen, so DON'T DO It,  tell agent thankyou but I will get my own solicitor. Our dream of retiring to the sun was shattered and we are still non residents 16yrs later as we have no confidence in a peaceful Spanish life. It has taken years to replace some of what we lost in a 5 bed villa as pensioners and time has aged us to the point of preferring the simpler UK life.

 Ps. We did try to sue the solicitor and insurance company, went through 3 other solicitors (more money cost) and gave up after last one told us to as we wouldn't win. Told it is the responsibility of the buyer to know everything about their property and solicitors only have to tell you what is happening at the time not the future. 

Regards 

Pauline 

Pauline, I know what you went through and apart from a small number having to have their home knocked down, I've not heard of a worse outcome.
The agent, if they had any idea of what they were doing, would have known something as big as a high speed train line being built and intentionally withheld that crucial information. It really is criminal.
A good agent will ensure that the build matches the deeds but a good agent is very hard to find and if they have a property which has irregularites they are hardly likely to tell you. If using their own abogado I suspect instructions were given.
In Spain it really is Caveat Emptor. Estate agents are not regulated and work in a cut throat business. Solicitors seem to just check there are no debts, the vendor has full title and that the legalities are completed. Insisting on an EPC rating seems laughable in the whole context of things.
In the UK solicitors will check everything that may affect a property, currently and in the pipeline. You are also legally obliged to disclose certain information https://www.propertyroad.co.uk/what-disclose-when-selling-house-uk/

You will also get a flood map but here you would specifically have to ask your abogado for details even though you may not even consider that a hot, dry country such as Spain is plagued by extreme weather conditions. You do actually need to take a tape measure or at least keep a keen eye out for anything that looks as if it is not original. My estate agent told me from the very outset that there were irregularites which the vendor needed to sort ( which they did ) and he had the deeds with him (we were lucky, simple as). Even if you don't speak Spanish you can get an idea of what they are stating such as build size, terrace size and if enclosed, outbuildings, pool, hard landscaping or height of boundary walls. Does it have a Habitacion Certificate which may or may not have consequences re connecting to utilities? Does the valuation match Hacienda's and will you get a bill for Complementary Tax sometime in the next 4 years? What is the state of the electrics, is there a boletìn?

You have to ask for this information specifically otherwise they seem to just push the process through so they can get their money.

Yes it could happen if you have your own independent solicitor but it is a question of odds and at least they will be acting for you alone. My estate agent said it would be easier, quicker and cheaper to use their recommended solicitor and continued to push us to change but we insisted.

Hi

Where are you wanting to buy, is it a house or an apartment

Thanks Cheryl, I guess we are the epitome of "worst case scenario" and I take no pleasure in relating our story but if it scares someone not to use the same solicitor, so at least a 50/50 chance of getting impartial advice then I,ve done my job. Just that 1 wrong step has ruined our lives. I can only hope Karma prevails. 

Regards 

Pauline