Mortgages

Do not touch with barge pole! Do not agree to anything until you have consulted an independent abogado. Do not use the abogado connected to the estate agent under any circumstances.

The word abogado is usually translated as solicitor/lawyer in English. Do not use any English person calling themselves a solicitor, it has no legal standing here. There are expats who are legally qualified here,but there are many more Spanish abogados who are perfectly trustworthy available to help you.

Do not be rushed into making any decision, especially if they start telling you that you are likely to lose the property. There are many many properties for sale and you should not allow yourself to be pressured. Avoid paying over any money to the agent, be it as a deposit, or retention, or agreement to purchase until your abogado, or abogada if a woman,  has checked the legalities. It is not the estate agent’s remit to tell you of any problems.

None of this is meant to put you off, but to advise you that you are the one in charge and not to proceed unless you are completely clear about what you are buying.

Hi,

The agent is trying to be helpful as in seeing if the banks would be interested in granting you a mortgage subject to your proof if income and credit report. This can take a couple of weeks to get an answer from the bank but even if the bank said its possible it could depend on the property and also the valuation. The estate agent cannot do anymore than this to be helpful. They cannot actually take out a mortgage for you unless they had a POA from you. And even then the bank are checking before the loan goes out if being done under a POA. So in my opinion that agent is actually positively being active for you.

Hi Shelly,

Good advice from Stephanie and a reasonable explanation from Sandra.  I think the bottom line here is that, so long as you haven't signed a Power of Attorney in favour of your estate agent, you should be OK.  Personally, I would still err on the side of caution, appoint a good, independent abogado and do everything through them.  Most importantly, as Stephanie says, never pay any money to an estate agent.  The favourite one is the "Reservation deposit", usually Eu 3,000, and agents tell prospective purchasers that this is "normal practice" in Spain.  It has no basis in Spanish conveyancing law - if you want to show good faith in respect of a particular property, you could pay a reservation deposit to your abogado, but it's usual practice that you pay a contractual deposit of 10% of the purchase price to your abogado, once they have checked that the documentation is in order.  That's why it's important to use an independent lawyer, not one linked to the agent, to ensure that the abogado is working in your best interests.

Good luck!

Kind regards,

Kim

Hello, Mrs Cynical here where estate agents are concerned!
I am assuming a mortgage is actually needed in order to find a suitable property within your budget and not just to make it possible for you to buy a property of higher value.
As Kim and Stephanie have said, an independent abogado is crucial, just google "Should I use an independent abogado to buy property in Spain" to find some very good reasons.
There is also the element of drawing you in and feeling beholden to them for having done all this work on your behalf. Estate agents are paid handsomely by the seller and are working for them, not you, and may well get commission from banks and solicitors that they introduce you to.
As has been said before, there really is no rush at all, there are currently 5739 properties for sale in Torrevieja alone on Kyero. Come and look, don't tie yourself down to one agent and don't commit to anything until you have returned home and had a good long think about it because it is all too easy to get carried away. Come again January to March as it can feel very different in winter and then again in high summer, especially August.  If it turns out to be the wrong choice it could be years before you can sell it and then there is another load of taxes to pay.
If you are from the UK you need to see how Brexit may limit the time you can spend here and may increase the Non Resident tax. If you ever think you may want to rent it out as a holiday let, even to friends and family at reduced rates, please read this;

Davebev1's guides: Renting out your property as a holiday let in SpainIn areas where licences are still being granted the process can take about a year during which you will not even be able to advertise.
The recent Gota Fría has caused devastation across a wide area and is unprecedented however flash flooding is quite common with the Spring and Autumn storms so this is another thing to keep in mind.

Take your time, do your research and I hope you find what you are looking for.

Thanks to you all for the feedback it was most helpful. Ye read some horror stories on the forums it can be scary. The lady in the estate agents is lovely but because I don't know enough about the legal stuff I just needed to get some answers. I am coming over for a week in October and I have made some arrangements to view some properties with different agents. This may be the only chance I'll be on holiday between now and my actual move to Costa Blanca next summer. Alot of people have recommended I come out and rent for 6 months so hopefully my holiday in October will help me decide an area but the move is a definate one I'm relocating from Ireland to Spain and I'm so excited. 

Thanks so much to all you lovely people hope your all having a wonderful  life in Spain.

Shelly