PLEASE SEE IF THIS IS OK FOR ME TO GO AHEAD WITH SUN LAWYERS - Page 7

Hi Weedster and welcome to the forum!

Have you completed on your purchase yet?  As part of the process, your lawyers should check that, if the property wasn't built with the balconies enclosed, the vendors have done so with permission from the community of owners (if there is one) and with planning permission from the Town Hall.  If not, you will become liable for the cost of doing so, along with up to 4 years back IBI (Council tax) from the Town Hall.  Ask your lawyers the question and, if you haven't completed yet, I'd recommend making it a condition of purchase.

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Kim

Thanks for your reply, so far we have paid 7500 euros deposit plus 500 euros to the solicitors for initial costs. Does the IB tax go up with enclosed balconies? We really aren't used to Spanish response times yet as my emails go unanswered for weeks never mind days!

I'll send them yet another email now to ask the above question, in our naivety we didn't even think of that possibility as there are a few enclosed balconies on the community.

Thanks again 

Tony

Hi Tony,

Anything that increases the living area is likely to result in an increase in IBI.  Your abogado (lawyer) should have asked you if there had been any structural alterations to the property.

Did you pay the deposit to your lawyer or to the estate agent?  Was it a "reservation deposit", or the legally binding 10% deposit that has to be paid to your lawyer when contracts are agreed?  The answer will dictate how 'firm' you can be with your lawyer, if it becomes necessary 😉

Kind regards, 

Kim

Hi Kim

I've asked my lawyer the question and they say they are checking this with the vendors solicitors. I did notice that my IB is a little bit more than another property for sale on the same urbanisation that is the same size but without enclosed balconies so hopefully that explains it.

The initial 2500 euros was a reservation deposit and now we have paid a further 5000 euros which seems to be the binding deposit(although it is nowhere near 10%?), so it may be a further reservation deposit?

My solicitor has informed me that they have received both and if the vendor does not complete by our completion date they are liable for double that to us in case of sale failure, which obviously we don't want to happen.

Another thing which we have confirmed is that the property is freehold and it is sold free of charges and encumbrance, something else which we have checked retrospectively.

Thanks again for your help, much appreciated

Tony

Hi Weedster,

Good to hear that your lawyers have responded to you.  Do let me know if you´re unsure of the response they receive from the vendors´ lawyer.

Kind regards,

Kim

Not that I need to, it’s just a query, I have an Italian passport, can I stay longer than the 90 days if I want to as I’m a eu citizen, or is it the same as uk passport holders.

Thanks for any comm

Hi Ferdi,

As an EU citizen, you don't have to gain residency in Spain, but if you intend to stay here more than 90 days, you have to register as a foreigner - confusingly, this is exactly the same process as applying for residency!  (But not the same as the residency application process for Third Country Nationals, which UK citizens have had to comply with since 1 January 2021.)

In reality, as an EU citizen, your registration status is unlikely to be questioned, so long as you don't exceed 182 days (6 months), as that would make you tax resident here by default.

Kind regards,

Kim

Thank you for answering my query , very helpful and useful to know.

Hi Kim

Just received a reply from my lawyer(only took 22 days!)

They state that they don't have a license from the town hall nor permission from the community, and that the balconies were enclosed 3 years ago therefore cannot be included in the title deeds(I don't know why).

They state that the possible fine from the town hall "prescribes" after 4 years, does that mean as per your answer above a fine would be due and it would also entail 4 years extra IB tax?

The seller is saying as the enclosures are aluminium they are removable and they will do so, or leave the house as it is. Our solicitor says they will not be included in the title deeds because if we want to remove them the dimensions of the house are not altered.

Their proposal is that we try and get permission at the next AGM(with no guarantee) and request a retention of 1000 euros from the final price in case of a fine.

I'm unsure what to do now. If we pull out is it our fault?

Tony

Hi Tony,

If you like the property, then going ahead with the purchase on the basis of the suggested retention is one resolution, but it's cheeky of the vendor to expect you to sort this out, rather than them.  We did the same thing when we bought our house, although ultimately the vendor resolved the issue at their cost before we completed.  The main thing is that you don't want to be out of pocket in the event that a fine and up to 4 years' retrospective IBI Council tax is applied.

Alternatively, you could agree to the enclosures being removed, subject to a reduction in the sale price - a higher risk strategy if you really want the property, but it depends on how keen the vendor is to sell and whether they have other people queuing to buy their property.

Kind regards,

Kim