Banking problems for purchasing a new property

We bought in 2017.

We transferred the funds to our Spanish solicitor from our UK bank.

Although our Spanish solicitor had our Power of Attorney, and set up our Sabadell account, we didn't sign any Sabadell paperwork until we arrived (after the house transaction had completed). And yes, there were lots of forms.

Hi thanks for your reply. I think it's a case of data protection and money laundering gone mad nowadays. My solicitor has POA but states we cannot pay the money into their account as it has to go to the sellers from an account in my name. Which my Wise account is. 

We have just recently purchased a property in Spain. We opened a Currency Direct account  and transferred the money into it from our UK bank account. We then transferred the money to the seller and the solicitor/notary from there. All the solicitor/notary requested was an email that listed the UK bank account and Currency Direct account details to confirm where the funds had come from. 

Thanks

Sounds perfectly plausible to me, but so far I'm less than impressed by my solicitor and feel as if every other party is doing their best to make this as awkward as possible. 

Basically the same for me in 2019 a independent solicitor with power of attorney, set up everything and when payments were required I paid straight to the solicitor who then paid the seller on my behalf, saving me money in bank charges, I also used currency direct, Wise is a good choice as I am on the understanding they use a EU iban number = no transfer fees, where using a GB iban number will generate Spanish bank charges = rather a lot is my guess on a property purchase.

This is just a taste of things to come, everything in Spain is made as complicated and convoluted as possible.

I can only think they get some kind of perverse pleasure making people's lives difficult and as frustrating as they can, they certainly don't make it easy that's for sure.

Ha, I agree

Hi Weedster,

Gosh, you've been having a hard time of it with Sun Lawyers!  I think it's time to play hardball with them again - an email along the lines of them frustrating your purchase by recommending Sabadell and then failing to follow through to ensure the account was set up in a timely manner (why are you paying them to have a POA?!)  Are you currently in Spain, or the UK?  If the latter, you may also want to suggest that you will have to travel to Spain in the new year, in a timeframe of your convenience, to set up an account with a different bank - and Sun Lawyers will have to explain the delay in completion to the vendor and their solicitors.

I know that EU anti money laundering and tax fraud regulations have tightened up, more so for UK buyers since Brexit, but as you say, your Wise account is in your name and presumably you can prove an audit trail for the money from your UK bank.  It is not unusual for non-resident buyers to pay purchase funds to their lawyer's client account for distribution at completion.

Good luck!

Kind regards, 

Kim

Hi Weedster, such a nightmare for you when you least need it but I agree with Kimmy it's time to take a stronger stance with your solicitors. 

We bought our apartment in 2019 and used SGM solicitors who did everything for us NIE, DDs etc it really was so simple they even got us a refund as our first electric bill was part due from the previous owners. We also went with Sabadell but I went with the estate agent (casas manuel) and signed everything in the branch it really was all stress free and simple. 

Best of luck and hope it all works out for you

Best regards Binz