Solicitor

Hi All,

New to this forum. Can anyone please recommend good solicitor to help with property Purchase in SG. I am based in Dublin and will like an English Speaking Solictor. Agent has recommended one to me  but not planning to use for obvious reasons.

Regards

Victor

It is not clear where you intend to purchase. Where is SG?

Apologies - SG = Sierra Golf

Sent you a pm.

Hello I would use a UK Soliciter , we have a case in Tarragona with corruption within the legal sector, Xavier Peris Falset corrupted a case with a judge, see the documents on bill855.wordpress.com

aslo on Facebook. Corruption EU

The area is not free of corruption so go very carfull , we are having to go public with our case including all documents to prove we are telling the truth. 

The people and way of life are faultless and we miss our friends very much, 

Good luck

I was recommended to use a Cardiff based solicitor, who asked for an 'up front' payment....eventually i travelled down to Cardiff to see his original practice as he became self employed and he wasn't illustrating exactly what I'd paid for. When I spoke with a director of his old firm (Crookes by name!) I asked to see the file on my case. It wasn't there (I presume he'd transferred it to his own practice). However, the funds I provided were allocated the next day on the ledger.

In the end, I sought advice from the Legal Ombudsman and finally got all my paid funds returned because the firm could not find out what had been done with my case. I didn't get any compensation for the time, stress and expense.....the 2004 deposit paid caused enough stress without any further problems being added. I still would look around for a GOOD SPANISH SOLICITOR. Although, having been in a mess with my original solicitor (whos fees are still extremely high) I now have a legal demand from him for over 20k euros.

List of English speaking lawyers in Valenciana, Murcia and Albacete

Haha....my original solicitor is on the list! Please ask for charges and make sure your solicitor does what you want and not what he wants! I paid 19900 Euros and am still being chased for over 20k euros - despite the other side not paying the funds over (First Instance 2007 & Appeal 2009) . My husband was gravely ill and passed over in 2010, whilst I suffer from anxiety and depression - the solicitor accused me of being dishonourable to boot!

I was introduced to this 'solicitor' by a couple who also took advantage of me financially....altogether a lousy experience. My present solicitor is assisting me to deal with the above. I should add that the solicitor 'on the list' was constantly referring to my 'wealth'....so be extremely careful!

Hi Gill, we used abad abogados who are on the list and we had absolutely no problems. We were given a quote of all costs wrt the purchase up-front, there were no hidden charges and all costs were as quoted. Everything went very smoothly and the charges were very reasonable.

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences. However, I can't imagine any solicitor asking for 19,900 euros let alone someone paying it. You say you are still being chased for another 20,000. Is your dispute with the property developer or the solicitor?

The solicitor - Miguel Colombo.

I'm not sure it's wise to recommend any Solicitor in Spain.  The problem is that a high proportion are lazy, useless and are for more interested in developing their relationship with their compatriot than doing the job you expect.

Of course sometimes you only discover the short comings of their work a few years later when you try to sell.

In fairness there must be good ones, but unless you've been through the complete cycle - ie buying and selling successfully without any problem, it's best to give the advice that you need to double check everything yourself.

Perhaps it would be easier to have a rogues gallery for known incompetents?

"In fairness there must be good ones, but unless you've been through the complete cycle - ie buying and selling successfully without any problem,advice that you need to double check everything yourself."

And even then in most cases it could be you were just lucky there were no problems. The same 'professional' acting for someone else may still leave their client with problems.

acer, I haven't been through the full cycle as you describe. I have bought a property and have no intention of selling any time soon and will probably own my property until I die. At that point it is someone else's problem

Having said that, I have engaged a legal practice who appear to be knowlegable in their field and to date have managed all my legal affairs in Spain without a problem at what I consider to be a very reasonable price. They have advised, but not pressured, on services that would aid my purchase. They have also advised and completed the relevant legal documents relating to our Spanish will.

Time will tell if I have made a wise choice, but I probably won't be around to see the results. The reality is that I feel comfortable dealing with this practice and that gives me peace of mind.

I couldn't ask for anything more.

Duncan as I said you 'may' have been lucky or, as you used a solicitor for, example your Will, may not have a great knowledge of Spanish legalities. If that is so then you really cannot say they have got it all right.

An example of what I consider to be an honest professional:    I used an Accountant who gave me a fair amount of advice without charge. As a way of showing my appreciation, I asked him to do my income tax return. He advised that as my return would be pretty straightforward I did not need to pay him to do it and that I should use my bank, which would make the Return without charge. He explained he had told be about the free service provided by the banks, as he was giving me professional advise and it would not have been professional not to tell me.   As you may imagine I have recommended him to others, all of whom have had the same experience I had.

In the case of your solicitor Duncan, I would have been more impressed if you had said he advised you, assuming it was not complicated,  that you did not need to incur his fees in making your Will, just use the notary he took you to. 

DuncanMcG,

My post was not intending to criticise anyone who gave recommendations, but I admit to still feeling angry at the pathetic conveyancing system in Spain.  This has allowed many "foreigners" to have their lives ruined by the combination of fraud on the part of vendors and incompetance/unprofessional behavior  amongst their legal representatives upon whom they mistakenly rely.

I recently bought a flat and thought that I was wise to the procedure but only by luck did I find a significant flaw in the contract I was about to sign.  My solicitor who speaks fluent English had not bothered to check through the details with me - he had taken short cuts and was not protecting my position as you would expect.

In Spain there is not the basic procedure we have in UK whereby the seller completes a form that confirms basic information on the property being sold, including the property itself, disputes with neighbours, extras included in the sale, services that are connected, alterations to the property, planning permissions obtained (or not!) etc. 

As the purchaser in Spain you have to check all these items yourself, as best you can and they do not form part of the contract.  The vendor can say one thing to help the sale, but there is no written record, so it means nothing.

In the UK we often say that "caveat emptor" (let the buyer beware) applies, but in reality the vendor has to provide correct information to the purchaser and any misrepresentation is actionable.  In Spain the information provided and in the contract you sign is flimsy and the chances of any recourse against a dishonest purchaser, or the solicitor who failed to provide the advice expected are extremely low. 

There is no effective regulation of solicitors, nor professional standards.  As a breed they rarely write letters or even send emails - so you have no record of your instructions or what has been agreed.  To me all totally unprofessional.

I would also always suggest using a Spanish solicitor an one local to the property that you are buying so that they have local knowledge

Imont in San Javier have successfully completed on around 16 properties on Sierra Golf and know pretty well the issues and they are recomended by the British Consulate  and there is actually a regulator in Spain for lawyers, the problem is that sometimes you are not dealing with a lawyer.

They are not the cheapest, they charge around €1500 but you get what you pay for and there are people that have completed on the resort, have services connected and ALL of the legal paperwork in place

I would also endorse the recomendation of Abad

It would be very helpful to provide contact details of the regulator of lawyers in Spain since this is the first time mention has been made of such a vital role, given the problems identified to date and the impact this has on not only the Spanish real estate industry, but also the grave disservice legal/ conveyancing malpractice and failure to act with all due diligence does to those good lawyers intent on reforming and challenging the status quo.

Accountability via adequate trusted complaints and  monitoring procedures are vital to ensure any regulatory body is effective. Protectionist behaviour within the legal profession should be outlawed and in reality is in contravention to the rule of law.

Likewise there should be far greater controls in place to ensure that all conveyancers are brought under this essential  umbrella of regulation.

I got a quote from IMOT they wanted from 1500 plus IVA  21% = 1800,  So i have gone with the same solicitor who i have used in the past, i have bought and sold a couple of properties with no problems,And i am using them for a 3rd time, he is charging 1/2 of what IMONT wanted, people should also compare all the other add on fees when getting a quote because they all differ alot also.

The rates do vary between lawyers and as I said in my mail, you get what you pay for in this area and if you have a tried and tested lawyer not sure why anybody would get other quotes

Also check what is included for example another lawyer started cheaper but then charges another €500 to get the services connected, water and electricity, claimed that they had to go to site to meet the suppliers

The other thing of course is that you can always ask for a better deal, I normally do when I buy most things

Having bought and sold a few times, and assisted my son and a few friends  with a couple of transactions, I have never used a solicitor and so far never had any problems either, unless I count the times when the other party to the transaction had a lawyer and that lawyer caused a few hiccups which had to be resolved.

I know one needs a certain degree of competence to DIY but as the transaction must be signed  in front of a notary, lawyer or not, who has certain responsibilities to ensure the transfer  can legally take place, a solicitor can be an expensive irritant.

In UK lawyers have effectively brainwashed people into believing one needs them, but remember most of the work of conveyancing is done by a solicitors clerk.  And of course in UK there are conveyancers who will do the pretty simple work for a fixed fee.

PS    In most of the well reported problems of properties being demolished, most buyers appear to have used a lawyer.  Little good it did them !