See ya soon!

Hi Kev, I read your post and just wanted to share a little bit of advice. Be very careful choosing a solicitor/lawyer when you eventually come over.   Solicitors/lawyers are not like you would find in the UK, some are legal con artists and will quite happily take your money and leave you with nothing but a mess to try and sort out. I have a very good woman who speaks English who looks after everything for us so I would advise you to join some of the expat groups that are here and get advice from some of the members.
I wish you luck on your adventure. regards Jim.

Hi Jim.

Many thanks for the kind advice and offer of contacts.  I have a solicitor recommended by some people I know out there who have recently moved, maybe the same one as she is a woman too.  I appreciate the heads up and agree it can be a minefield buying anywhere in Spain.  You are right, it is important to get a local solicitor who can actually stand on the plot with the paperwork and make sure all is in order and of course is familiar with the specific legislation and its quirks locally.

Many thanks again.

Kev.

Hi Kev my advice regarding lawyers/solicitors use the one recommended by the bank you are using either for the purchase of your property or the one you use for banking in Spain. I have positive outcomes using these people however be very aware of estate agents not all of course but I have had poor outcomes with some. Good luck and enjoy your new life

Many thanks for the advice Ricardo, taken on board.

Hi Kev Most agents will take you to there solicitors,  Banks, currency companies etc as they get a rake off from them, do your homework and find who you want to use and not who they steer you too.

And whose side do you think that the bank's solicitors will be on. Had friends who were getting into that until I read what they were signing up to. I finished up getting a new solicitor who scraped what the Banks's solicitor was suggesting. I'm afraid my motto is, do not trust anyone and read everything that you are sent. The legal system here is not like the UK.

Hi Drofanna.  Many thanks for the reply.  As mentioned earlier, I think we have solicitor who someone we know used but it is interesting to see all the different points of view.  

Hi Jad.  Many thanks for the reply.   Yes, the system is certainly different out there, in addition to the conveyancing issues, they really do like a tax in Spain - more professionals engaged.  

Luckily, I found out from the guy doing my visa application that for my brother, the issues on capital gains tax and becoming tax resident in Spain means that he would have been into many 10s of thousands if he got tax residency in the same year he sold his property - even months after he sold it, which was the new piece of info.  So many people fall foul of that even before we get into the wild west of conveyancing.  Although it does sound a little better than it used to be, purchasers still need to be on the ball.