19 Aug 2008 12:00 AM:
Hello,
we are complete novices and found the whole purchase of an apartment in Condado Alahama (Jardines) very scary. Not helped very much by Polaris pushing but giving little advice on what you need to do. We made it up as we went along, it was painful but after speaking to others who were also completing we weren't alone. I hope the points below help,
1. Get a solicitor.
We never had one at the start but hired one for completion. We hadn't a clue how to get one so spoke to the agent and were recommend Pablo Fernandez Marcos. 0034 96 692 75 84, Pablo has English staff and we dealt with Christine and Tania who were excellent in guiding us through everything plus were always willing to give advise. Costs were 800euros, if you had a mortgage or 600euros without.
They also offer other services, i.e. for 60 euros/year will deal with electiricity/water suppliers who I have heard are problematic. Also will handle wealth/rates forms and made a point of saying they are still available after completion so don't simple walk away.
To get going they require copy of contracts, passport etc which I just scanned and emailed across.
2. Polaris.
We dealt with Silvia, we've heard they can be hit an miss but felt Polaris only looked after themselves and no one else. Very disappointed, they contact you to hassle you but don't explain the process hence the reason we are writting this item.
3. Mortgage.
We just took on the CAM bank mortgage of 60% i.e. 74700euros. We have 2 years Interest only and pay eurobor + 1.1% which I think is reasonable giving the saving you make not having to take out a new mortgage. Early repayment charges is 0.5% in 1st 2 years then 0.25%. If you take out a mortgage over the builders amount then this it'self had fee's which are high, for an extra 10%, 12000 euro's it would have cost 1000euros. We funded from the UK.
The current account interest is negligible but have euro/pound savings accounts but the rates start around 4% and you had to fix for 1,3,6,12 months.
We dealt with Sven, again very helpful. The mortgage would have taken around a month to finalise but we had a delay with Polaris failing to supply receipts of my payments (i had mislaid one), but after several chases to Polaris and a stroppy email the forwarded this on. I later found my own copy at the back of the drawer :(
p.s. we never did get bank guarantees from Polaris but by this stage no use.
For the docs they require like, P60, current accounts, Expedian credit check, Polaris contract, application forms etc. I just scanned in an emailed.
They have an online banking service which is in english and very comprehensive.
4. NIE
If you don't take CAM bank then Polaris were saying we would have to arrange our own NIE number. For Polaris this involved me send in a filled in form and passport copy. Once in Spain for completion they took you to the NIE office where you jumped ahead of the huge queue of immigrants to show your actual passport and then collect your piece of paper. On the day there must have been around 16 off us there, Polaris will ferry you in their minibus but were okay with us taking our own car and going in convoy.
Pre Completion.
Polaris will hassle for a completion date saying you must complete by such a date, suppose to get shot of the property.mortgage costs. Don't feel pressurised the Solicitor should be the one to dictate timescalee. We agreed a date, then things slipped a month, then more delays and had to rush, overall best to leave to the solicitor to handle.
Solicitor will not suggest a completion date till Polaris provide a habitation certificate, there were getting no response so it took me to send another stroppy email to Polaris to get this emailed through and to find it was dated a month previous. This certificate proves all the formal planning, etc has been completed and signed off.
CAM bank will provide costs to complete, notary, mortgage, bank fees etc. The solicitor will also vet. Below are our completion fees,
Solicitor = 800 €
Bank Mortgage Fees @ 0.75% = 560.25 €
Stamp Duty @1% = 1,332 €
Notary Fees = 1,100 €
Land Registry Fees = 528 €
Gestion Management = 316 €
For completion you need to transfer all the funds to your CAM bank account, CAM on the day will ask you to sign transfer forms to pay all fees,
Snagging.
Polaris will give you an appointment, we aren;t expert so asked snagitmurcia to complete on our behalf. Would recommend you get someone else to do it as they know Polaris, know what to expect/common issues. We thought we were pinicketty but missed quite a few things. Think we were somewhat blinded as this being the first time we had seen the property. The £230 spent will save on you flying over to check again.
So we flew over what next?
Monday 9am turned up at Polaris HQ for NIE.
As previously went in convoy around 9:30am to NIE office in Murcia with around 16 people, Polaris staff asked us to wait 40mins (in a bar) whislt they made arrangements. They then took us into the side office in small groups to show our passport and collect the form. We were first group to go in and were finished around 11am, then just left. Using the Polaris minibus means you have to wait for all to finish also then have to head back to PW HQ. This meant some people were late for snagging appointments or notary arranged for noon. Sounds obvious but suggest you get out a day or so early to find out where the office, Notary, CAM bank are etc.
The NIE office is at Avenida de Almeria, Edificio Volante, Murcia. With a large queue of people outside and wayoff round the corner
Polaris use about 3 notary's we heard, ours was Alfredo Hita, Ctra San Pedro del Pinatro, no22 izquierda, San Javier. Only a short walk from the town square.
Mon 1am - CAM bank
Around 1pm went to CAM office to sign mortgage papers, this is beside the church in San Javier town. They have a dedicated office so can't walk in but need to attract their attention to come and open the door, They close around 3pm.
CAM also need to see your home insurance policy, Polaris were expensive at £180 but got this Intrasure for £120.
I expected to pick up my debit card but this was with Sven in Mar Menor CAM bank which is based in the supper market. Took a trip their later in the week. Sven handed over the card an pin number, and their is an ATM outside so you can change your pin. Also Sven activate my CAM online account handing over the security card. He also demo'd the system.
Tuesday 9am - snagging.
Again 9am but we got lost, so arrived 20mins later. Drive up is very impressive but it is still a huge building site. You go straigt over the main round about and stop at the portacabin office on the left. From their you and Polaris rep go to your property. Snagging took around 1 hour, snagitmurcia documented faults, showed polaris and they also took notes. We had a cracked upvc window frame, scratches on worktop/wardrobe door, missing grout/chipped tiles etc.
Tuesday noon - Notary.
This is a very busy office, Polaris, CAM bank are premanently camped out here. You need to arrange for you solicitor/other mortgage provide to attend. Once there people are allocated numbers an you wait till people infront complete. If they have issues you wait even longer and dont seem to realise they can let others use the various offices whilst they wait. There is no drink facilities so bring water, and be prepared for a 4 hour wait. Process was,
Solicitor ran though the contract to make sure details are correct and you understand terms. Only issue I had was around Polaris being able to change future plans - whereas I've bought into the idea of this being a large 3 course resort (once planning is approved) Polaris could still decide to do something else.
Things can go wrong, whilst there one chaps forms had the wrong plot number, he was still their when we left, another had changed the names on the property, Polaris hadn't updated the docs and the client was left trying to arrange from someone in the UK to fax through power of attourney. This long wait is one reason why people handover power to the solicitor so they hang around.
CAM bank came in to explain mortgage terms and for signing of transfer forms. Also to state no outstanding loans on property.
Polaris came in to hand over 4 keys, they keep the fifth for snagging.
Eventually you go into a room with the Notary, Bank, Polaris and your solicitor. There's a quick run through of the contract, bank, Polaris and Notary all happy and you sign a bit of paper and shake hands.
This takes on average 3-4hours and with reqular slips in completion dates this is why the solicitor advised that so many sign over power of attourney. Tania was excellent company but would have found this wait awkward with someone not so friendly.
Again the message they gave is you are not presurised to sign but if you disagree not sure what happens next.
What now,
- well been to the apartment and are waiting for confirmation snagging is complete to our satifaction.
- Polaris are arranging for services to be installed, and expect 2 months. They do say you can use builders water/power if you wish to move in at day1.
- The apartments have central post office so I need to get Polaris to give me a key for my box. :(
- Find out what ongoing community costs are.
- install aircon 2200euros is best deal so far for 3 units.
- shop at IKEA . p.s. Spanish IKEA catalog is identical layout to UK expect the words are Spanish. Take the UK catalog with you.
- the IKEA is across from the new stadium which has a leroy king, (huge B&Q) and loads of other shops. If you fancier a quieter drive head south to Cartenge and on the junction with the AP7 is another large retail park with Carrefour (huge Tescos), Leroy King etc.
Hope you find the above useful, it is a complete brain dump of last week. We now need a holiday.
Thread:
Beginners step by step guide to Polaris completion
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