Need for Solicitors?

Hi all

Can anyone give us advise about weather to use a solicitor or not? I seem to remember reading in an old thread (possibly by George H) about not using them?Any advise woud be most welcome

Don & Kerry

It was George H who posted before.  He didn't use one and saved himself a few grand.  It does seem pretty straightforward but when things go awry - as they often do in Spain - you really need someone over there to sort it out.  Something as simple as getting your keys sent to you if you complete by proxy can be  headache unless you have a decent lawyer (or even a lawyer worse than a man short - as in my own case - was beter than nowt).  It really depends on how strong your nerve is at the end of the day!!!!!!!!!!!!

We completed without a solicitor but I'm not sure I would recommend it.  We have had no problems because of this but when it came to all the contracts and documents you were reliant on the explanations given by the notary and the PW staff involved (considering we had no Spanish skills).  This meant we had to ask the right questions, rather than having the peace of mind that a solicitor had reviewed everything for us. 

At the time I was happy to do it relying on the fact that the contracts were standard and would have been reviewed before.  As AJW said it really depends on your nerve.

We used one and they were fantastic making everything go so smoothly - well worth the money. Would you buy a property in the UK without a solicitor ? Are you willing to entrust tens of thousands of euros of your hard earned cash to people who are not working on your behalf ? No brainer in my opinion but each to his own.

Don and Kerry.

I completed without a solicitor.My reasoning was that the usual requirements,searches etc,had all been done many hundreds of times before.Also PW were hardly going to run off with my money. 

On the day it was simple enough,3 or 4 people in a room,one person interpreted while the notary spoke,then I signed up and was handed the keys.

However I had my place professionally snagged to ensure any problems sorted beforehand.Also I was taking the builders mortgage.

It wouldn't suit everyone but it all went smoothly for me,saving 1300e...If you want any info message me.

Good luck.

John 

Thank you all for your advice

Don & Kerry

me an my mate did the same as jaydee an had no probs either but we went thro barclays for the mortgage and on the day it all went smooth .

I used a solicitor and consider it money well spent 1200 euro’s all in, yes if all goes well you could consider it wasted money. Ask yourself if you would buy a property at home without a solicitor, if the answer is yes than its possibly worth considering not using one in Spain if you know all the pitfalls and what to do if something was to go wrong now or in the future.  

For me it was worth it anyway, but it was also worth it as we had given our solicitor power of attorney so when PW failed to complete on the first completion date we didn’t have to pay to go back to complete 6 weeks later when they were able to complete saving us about 500 + euro’s on Flights, Hotel and restaurants which PW are very adamant they will not pay for, even if it is their fault you haven’t completed first time. They will pay for the cost of the POA, but that’s only if you already have a solicitor.

Phil

Hi PGM

Thanx for your advice. Was that 1200 € inc tax? If so can you pm me their info please?