Advice just sold apartment

It can be stressy and even very strressy but it doesn't need to be if things are done right from the beginning, and that needs some knowledge not only of Spanish Laws but also how they are interpreted and handled. The bottom line: never mix up assets and make seperate last wills, i.e. assets in Spain in a Spanish last will and assets elsewhere wherever they are. If any doubt, PM me.. 

Interesting, we are both non Spanish and we were advised by the notary to have separate wills for assets in Spain in line with our national laws and other wills in our national countries still in line with our national laws for our assets there. We are only talking about peanuts in the other countries well below the disclosure obbligations to Fiscalia.

M

Hi Lil,

The lawyer acting for your purchaser should arrange transfer of the utility bills and community charges into their name - unlike in the UK, any outstanding debts on the property when you sell become the responsibility of the new owner, so it's in their interests to get it right.  For your own peace of mind, you could ask your lawyer to check with their lawyer, or if you're in contact with the buyer, ask them direct.

I'm sorry to hear of the stress that you and your family have endured.  From the experience of my husband and his siblings when they inherited their parents' Spanish property, it can be a shock for inheritors to discover that the costs associated with inheriting have to be paid upfront, rather than from the proceeds of the deceased's estate.  I don't anticipate a problem when my niece and nephew inherit our Spanish house, but I will certainly make sure that they know in advance the difference between the UK and Spanish procedures.

Kind regards,

Kim

I didn't realise at the time but my dad was a very methodical and forward thinking man. Before he passed he secretly (from me) made all kinds of arrangements regarding inheritance of two properties - one in Spain and the other in Scotland. On his last visit to the UK he gave me an envelope with instructions to open it when the worst happened and not before. It contained details of a bank account with £20,000 in it to cover solicitors costs and other 'incidental expenses' which I was to empty and close immediately, a telephone number of a solicitor in Torrevieja who I had to call immediately and the number of Avalon Funeral Services who were just amazing. After that everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - in Spain was absolutely plain sailing. There was nothing at all that could possibly make a terrible situation worse and as a result, for the last five years I've been the proud owner of a beautiful holiday/retirement home on a lovely private gated community in Torrevieja which I visit as often as I possibly can.

All accounts and utility contracts for the house were transferred painlessly to me and it only took one visit to the solicitor, an accompanied trip to the notary and another accompanied trip to set up a Spanish bank account. The whole thing was over and done in a morning. I only wish that buying my own house in the UK had been this simple.

I still retain the services of the Spanish solicitor and she deals with the general day to day business of owning a house in Spain on my behalf. I barely have to lift a finger. In fact the only thing I did need to do was to set up a TV and internet account. She would have done that for me too but I wanted to do at least one thing for myself...

I know that this is probably the exception to the rule but it proves that if something is done right in the first place then it need not be a hassle.

The only fly in the ointment was when I came to sell the property in Scotland. The solicitor there was absolutely useless to the point of being criminally incompetent and because of that I came within a day of losing everything in Spain because she was insistant that there was still a mortgage outstanding on the Spanish house. I knew full well that there wasn't because I had been with my dad when he went to the bank in Torrevieja to pay the mortgage off but she wasn't having any of it and it almost cost me everything. I even had to resort to threatening legal action against her but the real icing on the cake was that she then had the nerve to charge my just shy of £10,000 for the privilege of her settling my dad's UK affairs.

Hi Mr F,

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Perhaps you could share the contact details of the Spanish lawyer in Torrevieja?  It's always good to hear recommendations for a competent professional in Spain! 👍

Many thanks and kind regards, 

Kim

Glad to.

Martinez & Ballester Rabesma – Tax law specialized lawyer in Torrevieja (martinezandballester.com)

Cheers Andy

My parents were ripped off terribly by a UK lawyer in regard to a deceased uncles house, He sold off a detached house in Basset Southampton for 1/3 of its value saying that it was the best price he could get. It was never advertised or put with an agency. My mother wrote numerous letters protesting this to no avail. I knew nothing about this at the time and only found out after the last of my parents deaths some 18 years later. I found copies of letters and docs showing the property being offered for sale a year after the previous sale ( No docs, only the word of the lawyer) for over 3 times the price.

I also got rotten responses and or lack of from another UK lawyer in Southampton just last year regarding a will.

M

Thanks! anyone none of the replies actually answered my question but told me what I already know lol. Cheers.

When he’s completed I’ll recommend him hehe