Banks or Bandits

My mortgage broker arranged my mortgage with Bankinter even though I told him my bank account had been opened with Cajamar, he no longer works for the company concerned by the way.  The signing of the documents for our house is finally nearing completion (allegedly), so I went to Cajamar to transfer 125,000 euros to Bankinter.  The cashier told me that would cost me 1,250 euros.  When I told her that there was no way was I paying them that amount for the pleasure of moving MY OWN money she found that very funny.  At that point the staff suddenly couldn't speak English.  I asked for a cleared cheque for which she said I would be charged the same.  I find this to be nothing more than extortion, apart from taking the money out in cash and risk being robbed (again) can anyone suggest an aternative way to pay this amount over, surely if I just clear the payment by cheque direct to the developer they can't charge me for that? 

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HI Adrian your post begs the question that if you wanted a mortgage with Cajamar as you had a current account there already, first why did you go to a mortgage broker, second why didnt you tell him you wanted the mortgage placed with Cajamar. Is there a possibility that Cajamar wouldnt do what Bank Inter would do for you? As lenders they have different criteria and advance in a different way. Internal transfers in Spain are generally free of commission but this might have something to do with the amount being transferred. Most I have ever transferred internally is 45,000€ but I am not aware I would incur charges for transferring more.

Rgds

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The reason we had this particular mortgage broker is that when we came here in June we were advised in England to use the services of H20 Property as they are associated with Bairstow Eaves Estate and were safe.  They found us our future home and it seemed perfectly natural to use them to arrange a mortgage.  I had opened the account at Cajamar when I started working in Gibraltar.  That was before finding the house and this broker told me that he always used Bankinter.  I presumed he was working in my best interests and went with the flow, as I said before he no longer works for them.  I had to transfer 300 euros to Bankinter for the valuation on the house and was charged 3 euros by Cajamar, and by Bankinter 1.25 euros for the tranfer and 23 euros for paying the valuation, so it has nothing to do with the amount of money being moved it is just licensed extortion.

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How odd, I would have thought a mortgage broker would have focussed on more than one company to get the best mortgage deal.  Seems odd he would only recommend Bankinter to me.  We need Smiley's input on this one :)

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Ahhhhh well now, dont get me started. There are brokers and there are ...... well not sure quite how I can put it - momentarily lost for words; make the most doesnt often happen!

Allegedly, when the company in question started their own mortgage service and replaced their external provider, they brought someone over from the UK who had no idea about Spanish mortgages. They sent a mystery shopper into another company's office and gleaned lots of information while taking copious notes (seemed smelly at the time). These notes were then typed up and passed onto said new advisor. Allegedly after that there were numerous complaints about what clients were being told and the "advice" given. How I am aware of the alleged information is another story!

Whether I would recommend Bank Inter or not completely depends on the client and what they are looking for and provable income etc - many, many things to factor into the equation and a lot more complex in many ways than the UK. As a company we do use them - in terms of business volume placed they are probably at number 8 in the charts so I guess that answers any ensuing questions. I most certainly would not recommend dealing with a broker who only deals with lender - how can he give best advice that is bespoke to the client if he only has one product in his portfolio?

Rgds

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Smiley
Daylight robbery comes to mind. these charges are the reason that Spanish banks are the richest in europe.
If you transfer more than 12000 euros, it is classed as an international transaction. My bank banco de valencia charged me 648 euros for depositing the money for my first house, this was 0.5%. I challenged this and they said if i was going to bank with them ie direct debits etc they would lower this to 0.2%.
When I sent the deposit for out house on SADM they didn't charge to receive it but when I wanted them to transfer 100K, they were going to charge me 500 euros, like you I went off it. I checked with another bank CajaMurcia and they said this is normal. Again I negotiated this figure down to 0.2%. So my neighbour picked up a counter check for me and it still cost me 200 euros. I was told that there would be no charge if it was a personal cheque.
I realised that the best way to do it if possible is to send the money direct to the builder when you do the foreign curreny transfer and not to your bank account.
The fun will start when we all come to complete our purchase and San Jose want a lump of money in cash. (The old black money) I was told by a solicitor that there is a way around this so I need to check ot out next month.
Hope this helps.

Regards Ian

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Hi Ian I think that you will find the richest banks in Europe are based in the UK - HSBC, Barclays

All banks here charge for various things although their charging structures are all different and there is a move to bring some transparency. This however will mean that it will be menu pricing - thus no negotiation downwards. I have sent an e mail to you directly about the possible perils of sending the money direct to the developer - let me know if you dont get it.

Re Black Money - if you pay Black you are opening up a can of worms for yourself - it is a loophile that is gradually being closed - if you plan to keep the house forever then not necessarily any immediate threat unless the Land Registry suspect something dodgy (see below) - if you are thinking you will simply do the same when you come to sell be very careful - it is being outlawed and Notaries are being instructed to inspect a paper trail for every steop of the transaction - Hacienda want it eradicated!! Land Registry can also get involved if they think there has been conspiracy to defraud - as the new owner the burden of the vendor's CGT falls on you and there is additionally a 20% penalty - bit more detailed than that but get your lawyer to explain that and if he says there is a way round it get him to put it in writing as a recommendation - after ensuring he is a member of the Law Society if Spain.

RGds

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