Advice on house purchase and monthly bills.

Hello Mark and Jackie, exciting times but it can be a bit like a leap into the unknown!
Most of your questions should be directed to your solicitor. The sale can't go through until you have the NIEs but everything else will depend on how far along your solicitor is with the sale process. If everything is ready it will just mean attending the Notary with all parties present after collecting the banker's draft from Sabadell and everything is signed, sealed and delivered on the day and this could be within a few days of getting the NIEs. The solicitor often arranges the transfer of utilities.
After this, I found it so much easier to use a Gestor to handle everything for us and take the worry away. You need to get the car sorted quickly to ensure you can import it as part of your household goods and then they can help you get registered for health services, get on the Padron, gain legal Residency, Tax etc and you have someone "on your side" for anything that may crop up in the future.
Whilst you are waiting, ask your solicitor what the registered value of your new home is because Spain has Complementary tax, a delightful little tax which can pop up and bite you in a few years time. The tax was introduced when sale prices were sometimes understated to avoid paying all of the Purchase Tax, with the balance being paid under the table in cash. The taxman didn't like this and "valued" every property in Spain, much like in the UK over Council Tax banding. Since then the property market has changed and many properties are being sold below these values, the taxman eventually sees the discrepancy and you get a bill for the difference with just a month (I think) to appeal.
Also, scroll down to the bottom of the RHS of the page until you get to Jim's Guide to Spain, an absolute mine of information. You can also search for "Jim's Guide" under "Everywhere" for his guides on just about everything else.
However you decide to play it, I wish you all the best and hope you enjoy your new lives in Spain as much as we do.

Hi Cheryl

Thanks for your comments and they are much appreciated, we are not looking for residency and are merely looking to use the property as a holiday home initially.

We seem to have most things in place and our Estate Agent Newstart have put us in touch with a solicitor who has said that they will take care of the utilities and have given us the name is someone in the area regarding the transfer of the car.

Hopefully we get the NIE numbers within the week and we can then book our flights and get things sorted out.

Thanks again

Mark

Hi Mark and Jackie,

Congratulations on your imminent purchase!

Your timescale sounds do-able, although could be a little tight depending on some of the others things you say, e.g. when you say, "We still have to sort out the financial side with Sabadell", do you mean a mortgage?  When you say, "We have the money ready to transfer for completion", have you arranged a Forward Contract to allow for any currency fluctuations?  We did ours through MoneyCorp.  I assume you'll be transferring the funds to your lawyer's (abogado) client account?

Also, regarding "and all the direct debuts", these should be arranged by your lawyer as part of their service, so worth double-checking with them on that. 

The "transfer of the car" can be done once you arrive, but I believe there are some tax advantages to doing this in the first month.  Unless you speak Spanish, you'll probably need help and I'd recommend Graham at Spanish Number Plates - it's probably worth your while emailing him now, so that you can get early advice about the process and costs: https://www.facebook.com/SpanishNumberPlates/ 

So, 1 day may be enough to finalise matters, but 2-3 days are probably safer, especially if this is the period in which you'll be completing on your purchase at the Notary?  You don't say whether you're buying a new build or resale, and who's driving the date of 5th February, but if things don't go to plan, make sure that you're in control of the completion date.

Spain has made an art form out of bureaucracy(!), so always better to err on the side of caution and give yourself more time than you think may be needed.

Good luck!

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Kim

Thanks for your reply.

Yeah our money is with Moneycorp at the moment and Sabadell have asked me to transfer the money into my new account with them around 20th January 2020.

This gives us plenty of time to do the transfer the day before completion at the Sabadell office, Utilities and car are the things to sort out and thanks for the info that you have given me.

Just awaiting the NIE numbers then we can book the flights.

Take care

Mark

Ref the money transfer, many banks charge a fee if more than €50K is deposited in one go. I'd check with Sabadell, and if they do charge a fee then move the money out in smaller tranches.

Hi Mark,

My husband used Newstart for the sale of his parents' property on La Marina (they were excellent) and they recommended VP Advisers for the conveyancing.  Everything went OK and there's not much that can go wrong when you're selling, but I would always recommend you use an independent abogado when purchasing.

Regarding your purchase funds, do you know whether Sabadell are transferring your funds to the vendor electronically on completion day, or giving you a Bankers' draft to take to the Notary?  Sabadell charged us €100 for a Bankers' draft when we bought almost 4 years ago, but I've seen forum members recently mentioning much higher charges.  It would be worth you checking the costs with your branch and ask what deal they can do you if, for example, you buy their home insurance.  Insurance through banks is typically more expensive, but it may be worth your while buying it from them for the first year if it allows you to negotiate a discount on other bank charges. 

Kind regards, 

Kim

Hi Kim

Thanks for your reply.

yeah Newstart have been great and did recommend a solicitor to me and they are independent.

I will ask Sabadell the question when I contact them just before I transfer the funds from moneycorp.

thanjs again

Mark