When buying a Spanish Property who does the money go to?

Question

We are buying a property in Spain and the agents have asked us to transfer the money to their account, is this normal practice?

We would prefer to transfer to the Notary office or set up our own account and transfer there?

Also, we are a bit worried that the agents may be "back to back"ing the sale/purchase///how can we check this out?

Thanks!

We do have a Spanish Lawyer who is handling the sale, he has advised that he will set up a Spanish bank account in our name. I just wanted to know if it was normal practice to transfer monies via the estate agents or not?

Answer 1

We bought a property in Spain 4 years ago and although the estate agent and the constructor were both there when we were signing the papers, so was the notary agent and we did not pay the estate agent any more, they took their percentage out of the sum.

I would suggest talking to your lawyer about this and then getting a second opinion. It's always a good thing to do.

Don't be suspicious of everyone, they're not all trying to rob you, in fact usually it's your own countrymen you try to do you out of your money.

As I said before always get a second opinion and good luck buying your house.

Answer 2

No, definately not normal practise. Are you having a mortgage or do you have the cash for an outright purchase?

It is however totally standard practice in Spain to cut out the estate agent. They generally charge 5% of the selling price in fees and add zero worth appart from finding a buyer. All Spanish operate this way. If you kow the seller or can find out who they are via neighbours etc. I would definately recommend doing this. I kow lots of agents, hey are all corrupt and they ALL lie. You may think this a gross generalisation but in my extensive experience, very true.

You definately need a Spanish bank account but dont leave this to a lawyer, he is probably on commission, this is quite normal, estate agents and business agents generally are too.

All the money is transferred at the notary when you sign the papers. The estate agent will push for a deposit of 10%, this is normal but not necessary. If you do decide to pay a deposit (I suggest you do not) pay a couple of thousand euros only. This is paid to the SELLER not the estate agent when you sign the 'Opcionnes de compra' (Option to buy) agreement.

Remember it is normal not to declare the total selling price of the property, this is totally standard in Spain and saves both parties on tax.

Answer 3

No you have to do it through a Spanish bank!!!
what happens is you place a deposit and the remainder is given to the Notaria its a custom that you pay the notaria and he pays the seller the seller gives you the keys job done.
alternately you give the money in front of the notaria the agent takes their commission for the sale and gives the remainder to the seller.
Be careful here because lets say the seller wants hypothetically 50000 euros and you see it up for sale for 70000 euros the agent
gets 70000 euros of you gives 50000 minus 5% commission to the seller and the agent pockets 22500 euros not a bad deal that is it so tell them you want to go before the notary for the final payment .
i bought my house 3 yrs ago and did not know about this scam and i spoke to the seller the next day and 10000 euros went diffy
the agent pocketed it .SO YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
WELCOME TO SPAINXXXX
Ps dont by Almacens their illegal way of buildng a house but infact they are agricultral buildings for tractors and not legal as an house so beware make sure the house is on the ESCRITURA (DEEDS) as a habitation if not steer clear no matter what they say and all permissions are in place for renovating as once you have bought your stuck if the adjuntament wont give you permission to say build or renovate the prop and also bear in mind the estate agent is not your friend hesªshes there to make money from you so the sun sets in the north and rises in the south if you get my meaning.
check out www.idealspain.com and www.thinkspain.com these are excellent sites.
pps definatly be at the notaria for change over you would be very foolish to trust something this important to a third party.

Answer 4

if you are buying through an agent they will take their cut (can sometimes be around the 10% mark), but in theory it is the seller who pays this as the agent is acting on their behalf, but normally the seller tells the agent how much they want in their hand and the agent puts his commission on top. you will also have to pay for other expenses such as notary fee, land registry, tax to the state government and tax to the local government also, and beware of a property that has been owned for a long time by tha same owner as the local government tax can be extremely expensive, and although the law says that the seller should pay this, it is normal practice to make the buyer pay. get good legal advice, it could save you money in the long run as you might find that you have bought something that doesn't exist

Answer 5

Be very very careful, even if this is a supposedly reputable estate agency, just recently, two estate agencies have folded owing 1000's of euros of clients money through exactly the same thing. my advice would be to come over and open your own account, then when back in the UK, transfer to your account, then get over here for the actual sale at the notary.

You will also need to thoroughly check the paperwork for the house, many have bought at a place called Catral, through estate agents, only to find they were illegal builds, this happened all over Spain too, not just in that one place, I have put the link to today's paper on here for you

Answer 6

It is most irregular to send money to the agents. You should use a reputable Attorney.
It certainly sounds as though something fishy is going on and I would not want to do business with those agents. I suspect that Real Estate Agents in Spain have no scruples about cheating on
"Rich Americans."

Answer 7

No only pay the deposit to the agent
The rest of the money can go direct to your abrogado apart from the "private contract"which you will pay in cash in the Notary's office when he departs for a few minutes!

Do not use the agents solicitor unless you are comfortable with them (the agent)

Caveat emptor especially in Spain

Answer 8

The local notary who conveys the property in Spain is a civil servant whose responsibility is to ensure that the correct procedures are followed, that the seller has good title to the property, that the right amount of tax is paid, and that the property is registered at the Land Registry see http://www.spain4uk.co.uk/retiring_guide/lawyers.htm

Answer 9

I would use an attorney for closing and escrow services. Be sure to shop around first and always get AT LEAST two bids.

And, do your own homework on the price AND fees you're willing to pay for escrow, title, mortgage bankers and real estate agents!

Answer 10

1000000000000000000% dont do it.

If you dont have an acount, spend 100 quid, fly yourslef out, go get an account yourself. You can open an account based on your passport no.

Then, read my other answer to the person looking to find the best place to live in spain.

Basically, stay in UK. trust me.