Some questions...

All taxes due are payable at the Notary on the day of completion. The accepted method these days is now by bankers draft. Personal cheques will not be accepted. If you are buying on a mortgage, the lender and your lawyer and the Notary will liaise between themselves to calculate what monies are due and to whom. If it is on a mortgage the monies will be deposited into your account and the bank will turn up at the Notary with the relevant drafts but these will be signed by you - expect sore wrists at the end of the proceedings.

Your lawyer should ensure that there are no outstadning charges on the property and that arrangements are in hand for connecting utilities supplies etc. He should also ensure the keys are there with any instruction manuals for appliances, community laws, etc.

It is a very different experience to completing on a purchase in the UK (and probably anywhere else in the world I suspect).

Regards

Smiley

Be careful with Bankers draft as we were charged 0.5 percent of the total, which can work out as an extra cost of several hundred pounds!!, we were with Bankinter. we were not  properly advised by our solicitor or the agent, would definitely advise that you discuss the cheapest and safest way to make final payment to avoid being ripped off!!! We are obviously in process of changing banks.

JillB

If you are buying on a mortgage some lenders will not charge for issuing the bankers drafts

Regards Smiley

When we completed on our first property there were so many people in the room it was amazing - and we all had to hang around the Vera notary for 3 hours!  There was our mortgage adviser, us, our solicitor and the interpreter, the notary, his secretary, a rep of the developer, the developer's mortgage advisor (to ensure his mortgage was signed off) and the developer's solicitor.

It is possible to give Power of Attorney to your solicitor, which I understand is common for Brits to do, but just check what property value they are putting on the documents as I have heard stories that it is common to declare a low value to avoid IVA on completion, but they you get swiped for Capital gains if you sell.

3 hours in the Notary - thats a snip - I have been in there for 5 hours - still not completed and finally everyone went home and returned the next day. I have a friend who scheduled to complete on a Thursday who owing to a screw up eventually left the Notary at 2pm having not completed but went back on the Monday to find the screw up resolved but now there was another one - eventually completed on the Tuesday.

To be honest if a client is coming from overseas for completion we recommend they allow at least one day either side of completion to be in Spain. There are horror stories of people's flights being cancelled from the UK on the way out and then a problem at the Notary but they have arranged a flight back on the scheduled day of completion so either have to rebook flights or leave a Power of Attorney. It can be very traumatic because most people are expecting a similar experience to completing on a property purchase in the UK (can be traumatic in itself) but Spain is nothing like it. Difference is that we are subject to Roman Law in Spain thus everyone is physically present in the room. No system of Telegraphic Transfer so numerous cheques to be signed. In more undeveloped parts of Spain cheques are still not trusted and so cash is the order of the day - despite the number of counterfeit notes in circulation.

Smiley

The act of completing on a property in Spain needs to be before a Notary since he is the one that will give the necessary "public faith" to tthe deeds to be signed and further registered. All these gives the security that the price is paid and the property is now reflected as owned by the purchaser in an official document.

The fact that a lot of people will be present depends on the characteristics of the purchase (bank for previous mortgage, agents securing their commission, bank for new mortgage, etc.).

Regarding the question posed by "lajj",  your solicitor is the one who will ensure that the deed contains the necessary elements, that all taxes and costs are correct and paid and the necessary paperwork included.

Hello

My first post/question so bear with me.  We have just returned from Majorca and are considering putting an offer on a 2 bed apartment.

I have many questions which are for other threads but with regard to the completion, firstly I have arranged finance through my bank in UK so how do i go about finding out exactly how many Bankers Drafts I need on the day and how much they are all.  My sister lives in Majorca could I give her power of attorney?

If your sister is willing to act on your behalf with POA then that has to be better than giving it to anyone else like a lawyer (assuming you can't be present yourself, which is always the best option). It's easy enough to arrange through a notary.

With regards to the bankers drafts, is there an agent involved? Will they not tell you what you need? Is this a re-sale? If it is a straight forward sale, there should only be one bankers draft on the day of signing - for the total sale price less any deposit already paid.

Sorry if my answer is rather simple, but a bit more info would make it easier to respond in detail. BTW, where in Mallorca? (and you really should drop the "j" spelling if you're going to be a property owner there - that's for tourists!)

Roberto

Yes there are Agents involved, we are nearly at the 'making an offer stage' and I am trying to look ahead, a bit bewildering at present. 

Notary, NIE number, taxes, money transfers, lawyers........................ I think I am beginning to regret this!

Down to two properties in Soller and Cala D'or, want to pick one of them very soon, the one in Cala D'or has come down by 5k the one in Soller by 18k, both started at around 270k euro, we like the Cala dor one better but the reduction in price from Soller is appealling to me, not the wife!!!, any advise??

Both gated communities, both resale.

Mallorca it is from now on.

Any more advice much appreciated.

Seb

Hi Seb,

It's bound to seem bewildering now, esp. if this is your first time, but there are lots of members here on EOS who have been through the same thing & are very willing to help with any advice they can, so you came to the right place!

Since you're only at the offer stage, I wouldn't get ahead of yourself and worry too much about bankers drafts just yet. I think you will find most people on here would agree with me when I say the first thing you should do is get yourself some independent legal representation, and they will take you through the whole process. (I will PM a recommendation). But remember the agent stands to make a tidy sum from the deal also, so don't be afraid to pester them for info and help!

As for  advice on which property - that's such a personal thing, only you & Mrs.Seb can decide on that. Perhaps your sister has some opinion? I lived on Mallorca for 5 years, in Palma, but left 5 years ago & have not been back, so it's no doubt changed a lot. I've heard there are new motorways, which may mean it's quicker to reach Cala D'or than before, but otherwise I think Soller is slightly more accessible. It also was more of a town, rather than just a holiday resort, and there are other attractions nearby, like Deia.  In my time, Cala D'or was dead in the winter, whereas Soller has more year round appeal. I guess it depends very much on what you'll be using the property for. If you hope to get summer holiday rentals, Cala D'or may be better, although it's a short season.

Whichever one you choose, I'm sure you will be very happy. Mallorca is a stunning island and I think your investment will be a good one, so don't be put off by the buying process and all the hassle it entails.

Good luck, and next time you visit the island, don't forget to go to C'an Pedro in Genova for absolutely the best lamb in the known universe. Mmmmm, I can almost taste it now........

Roberto

Many thanks for your advise, you will no doubt see me pop up in some of the other threads in my quest for the perfect place in Mallorca, one final query, would the Agent take offence to me asking what there cut is, not sure if this is etiquette or not i have read they can be a bit waspy and I do not really want to do the wrong thing and loose what ever sale I finally select.

Once again many thanks.

Seb

Seb, I think I can guess where you're going with this. You may find the "Buying Property" thread interesting, where I've just posted about agents fees. I don't think you'll offend the agent - they mostly have very very thick skin. But don't expect them to give you a straight answer either! I think the important thing for you is to get the property you want at a price you are happy to pay. You should try not to worry too much about how that price will be split between vendor and agent, so long as you are happy with what you are paying. But if you are thinking about trying to negotiate the price down a bit further and the agent is telling you the vendor will not budge, I see no harm in suggesting that the agent lowers his fee a little to secure the sale. If he actually tells you how much he's getting (unlikely) and it's more than 5%, then you should haggle like mad! It may come down to a battle of wits though. If the agent senses strong buying signals, he's unlikely to budge either, and you may then be faced with losing the property or losing face!

Oh, what fun! I wish you all the best.

Roberto

Got your PM re solicitor, will no doubt talk again soon!!!

Many thanks

Seb