Lawyers fees for selling ...

We are selling our apartment, I am looking for a lawyer who will complete the work at a very good price. I don't really want to be charged in relation to the selling price. I just want a flat inclusive fee for the legal work. I will be selling at a loss so not capital gains tax and I know about the 3% retention. 

I would appreciate any any help, guidance, prices or recommendations.

kind regards,

Tom ...

If you put your location someone might be able to help in your area.

The solicitors I have come across usually charge a percentage, in our case it was 0.9% but, if the seller and buyer uses the same solicitor firm, they can split the cost.

We are on the costadel sol, Nueva Andalucia area but any Lawyer on the costa del Sol would be fine ...

I cannot see any reason for employing a solicitor when one is selling a property.  There is nothing for them to do.  

I have never even employed one when buying , however, if you have no knowledge of the requirements I can see why one might. That said, I believe many of the properties being threatened with demolition were bought using lawyers !

Johnzx, you always say there is no need for a lawyer, but most don't have your experience, plus you are fluent in Spanish.

I am selling my house and wouldn't dream of not using a lawyer to guide me through the process, and nor, I expect would many others.

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I am selling my house and wouldn't dream of not using a lawyer to guide me through the process, and nor, I expect would many others.

A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client​

Enough said.

Those who actually know what is entailed will know there is nothing for the seller to do other than provide the info the buyer needs. Paid up bills, electric, water etc, letter from president, if it’s a community,  that the fees are up to date.  The notary ensures that the transfer is legal. 

What else is there, except to find the money, to pay the unnecessary lawyer’s fees,  for those who think a lawyer is needed ‘bless them.’

Johnzx, yes of course you are essentially correct. However if I were in the OP's shoe's. needing to get back a 3% retention without too much grief, I think I would want to use a lawyer. Ossie1, ring round a few, Is the lawyer you used for the purchase not an option? You should be able to get it for a fixed fee of 500€ I would of thought.

And of course the other major issue that would drive prople to use a lawyer when selling is to make sure any mortgage is paid off correctly

500 €,    What !        

Team GB you must be a lawyer.

And as for paying off a mortgage:   If there is one,  the bank will have a lawyer at the notary’s office to ensure they are paid.

I still say even a novice does not need a lawyer when selling.

500 €,    What, is that too much Johnzx, sorry.

And as for paying off a mortgage:   If there is one,  the bank will have a lawyer at the notary’s office to ensure they are paid.

It's normally a director of the bank actually and yes they ensure everything is ok from their perspective, they don't give a jot for their former lender. If you use a lawyer, you always have recourse if anything is not done quite correctly

We sold 6 months ago without using a lawyer and we are complete novices. The agent did all that was necessary and at least we felt that they were doing something for their exhorbitant fee! They will also claim back the 3% retention in due course. As Johnzx said there really isn't much for a lawyer to do. We would always use a lawyer for buying though.

Well, around here nobody has a house that is actually fit for sale so when it comes to the time you want to buy one it is far more of a journey than just providing the paperwork. Every LFO is expired and because a pool or extension was built and not legally declared and added to the deeds town halls need to send inspectors around, you need to hire architects, breaches in town planning are inevitably discovered and the list goes on and bloody on all because grown adults seemingly don't have the capability of functioning like normal members of society and do things according to the laws.

Then you end up with the vendor thinking that they know better or hiring an agent or worse one of those conveyancors with umpteen years experience in the UK which means stuff all here and all of which want to do things their way as opposed what is actually needed only to discover they have not read the contract correctly and two days out from the notary, after 3 months of doing nothing, decide to file the outbuildings that now need a further 3 weeks before the land registry will have them registered.

So, yeah, that is a breach of contract. Instead of being at the notary and getting the keys today we have to choose whether to extend or consider the contract breached. We want the house so will extend for the last time but the reality of the situation is the sellers efforts to save a few quid could of cost him 20 grand. What is your recourse against someone who isn't registered to any society and not covered by professional indemnity all for the sake of saving some dosh?

As far as the banks lawyers go they are only interested in themselves, they make sure things are they way they want them to be but in terms of buying there is far more conveyancing that should be done that a bank has no interest in so I wouldn't rely on that when buying either.

Now unless your property is truly up to the order johnzx says then yes there will be very little to do, but in this area of the Costa Blanca I'm yet to see one of these properties. So it will depend, there is far less that can go wrong with an appartment sale so that has to be something. Personally, I wouldn't risk it if we were to sell, then again haven't got anything to sell yet.

If you use a lawyer, you always have recourse if anything is not done quite correctly

I hope those who's properties have been demolished, and those under threat, who used lawyers (that is most of them I believe) are reading this, they will be so relieved !!!!!   Just a pity it is not correct though .

Team GB,   I am open to being persuaded I am incorrect, but so far  your comments have not gone anywhere near convinced me that my position, from my experience of 32 years  of property ownership in Spain is wrong.

Johnzx. I'm neither trying to persude or convince you of anything, people will decide what's best for them.

If you use a lawyer, you always have recourse if anything is not done quite correctly

Oh, and by the way, copying and pasting this in isolation puts it totally out of context to the point I was making which was.

It's normally a director of the bank actually and yes they ensure everything is ok from their perspective, they don't give a jot for their former lender. If you use a lawyer, you always have recourse if anything is not done quite correctly  (in closing off the mortgage)

This not using a lawyer for some things reminds me of the idiots who spend a couple of grand on a used car and take it to a garage to have a simple job done, and when asked, "Why cant you do that yourself" usually reply "Oh I know nothing of car workings".....Yet spend many thousands, perhaps 100s of thousands on a house, only to pull it about and in some cases totally destroying it.

I have also found over the years of property in Spain that when you get down to the nitty gritty of why some houses have been pulled down or built illegally, you start to get a totally different meaning in the story as to "Well we did do it correctly, we did use a Solicitor"

I have never had a mortgage in Spain, but I did act for my son when he paid off a mortgage.  The Bank were ‘legally represented’ (by 'someone' from the bank) at the notary’s office, when I handed over the payment and the escritura was signed. 

In that case, unlike if it had been a sale,  it was for us to cancel the registration of the debt with the Property Registry Office.

 It was absolutely straightforward. 

Had we chosen to have a lawyer,  the only extra we would have had,  would have been to pay his/her bill just for being there.

May I ask does anyone know of a lawyer on the costa del sol who would represent me for around€500 for the apartment sale. If so please send me a private message. Thank you Tom ...

I would think that all lawyers would do that.  In fact can I act as a inter-media for a part of that fee ?

What an interesting thread! Might as well throw in my tuppence worth, since unfortuantely for the OP, it's clear that nobody can actually recommend a lawyer in Nueva Andalucia, which is actually all he/she wanted in the first place. Hopefully someone will yet offer up one.

I have to agree with John on the debate on whether or not you need a lawyer when selling. Someone said "wouldn't dream of not using a lawyer to guide me through the process" - what process? You turn up at the notary with whatever the buyer/buyer's lawyer (paid for by the buyer)/estate agent (as someone else suggested) has told you you will need, sign on the dotted line and take your cheque to the bank. Simple. And for those who are quick to suggest John is a know it all, may I just remind you that he did add "however, if you have no knowledge of the requirements I can see why one might (use a lawyer)." Of course, one could argue that if you are selling, you already have some experience of the "process", because presumably you once bought. If you weren't paying attention at the time (and buying property in a foreign country with no knowledge of the language or procedures would qualify in my book as one of those times when you really should be paying attention) then you're probably the kind of person who pays someone to go to the supermarket for you and this whole discussion is irrelevant to you anyway.

Someone mentioned help getting back the 3% retention, which is a fair point - the OP may want to consider using a gestor rather than a lawyer for this however, as they may well charge less for such a service.

Who was it who suggested the buyer and seller using the same lawyer and splitting the cost? That's so funny! In some countries the buyer and seller even go to the extreme of using different realtors to avoid a conflict of interests, but even in a basket case country like Spain I can't see the above scenario ever making any sense!

I enjoyed the comment comparing car maintenance to property DIY. Without getting into a long discussion, I can't quite explain why I find that comparison faintly ridiculous.

But my favourite part of this thread has be this: "around here nobody has a house that is actually fit for sale.....We want the house so will extend for the last time...." Hang on, WHAT???!!! I know nothing of this member's case, so my apologies if I sound insensitive or facetious or whatever, but WTF? Why would anybody knowingly buy a property that is not fit for sale? Lawyer or no lawyer.

Good luck to the OP getting a recommendation. I can't personally offer one for your area, but there are loads around. A quick Google search turned up this one, which I have heard of but have no experience of: http://perezlegalgroup.com/conveyance.html​ Interestingly, although they mention help with buying and selling, this page actually offers nothing about what they do for sellers, only for buyers. Go figure!

Simply put, every single property that we have looked at has had issues of some sort. It's not a case of why buy a property like that because they are all like that. We have been searching for nearly two years, 6 properties we have wanted to purchase after wading through hundreds of others and everyone, everytime had some bullshit reason for not being fit for taking to the notary after jerking you around. That is the choice around these parts, you make an offer and then wait for the seller to get their crap together. A lot of times they can't or are unwilling to.

Who am I to disagree with others experience here, I'm sure everything has gone swimmingly but I don't recognise any of it from what I have seen.