25 Sep 2010 11:13 AM:

Hello bringiton.

There is often so much turmoil as to which lawyer to use, and whether you can trust them or not.

An important point that Spain hasn't really addressed is the fact that most lawyers are not experts in conveyancing. It's true to say that years ago lawyers were NOT used in the purchase or selling of properties. But that was when Spanish estate agents were regulated and all had to be API qualified.

Those days have changed and anyone can now set up as an estate agent or developer and sell property in Spain without any formal qualifications or training. This created a vaccumm of legal knowledge which lawyers soon filled. Regardless of whether they had any experience in real estate or not.

The boom of recent years encouraged many lawyers to enter the real estate market and set up arrangements with local estate agents and developers. So even though your estate agent may say to you that you can pick your own lawyer from the phone book the chances are that they will already have arrangements in place with most of them.

So your initial question "Who do you trust?" is a poignant one, especially when you consider the number of people that have used lawyers to buy properties in Spain only to find that in the end it all went horribly wrong, including in some cases having their house demolished. And when you read about it they all say "but our lawyer assured us everything was fine".

There are obviously good real estate lawyers that cross every 't' and dot evey 'i'. not every purchase in Spain goes wrong, and not every lawyer is hooked up with an estate agent or developer.

You need to find who these good lawyers are. The best way to do this is to get involved with local English people that have purchased in your area (not necessarily your town) and ask them who they used and would they recommend them. Don't whatever you do ask your estate agent to introduce you to happy buyers, make the effort to find your own.  

Thread: Who to trust?

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24 Sep 2010 10:52 PM:

The first thing to note is that all is not lost.

1. Once the construction is completed and before you occupy the property you should ask your local ayuntamiento for a Licencia de Primera Ocupacion.

2. In order to acquire the Licencia de Primera Ocupacion you will need Certificado de Fin de Obra (certificate of end of construction) from the architect in charge of the project. This must be stamped by the college of architects. A certificate from Hacienda (tax office) and a copy of the original Licencia de obras (building permit).

3. The technical inspectors will then visit and inspect the property to make sure it complies with the current building regulations.

4. When they are satisfied that everything is in order, and after you pay for the licence, they will issue you your Licencia De Primera Ocupacion.

That's the steps,

David

Thread: Certificate of Habitation

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