house in Santiago De La Libera

POA is very useful.  My brother was buying his place where he needed to give POA as he reserved it without viewing - yeah, I know but I know the agent and also the area from my purchase a couple of weeks previously and it was a chance in a lifetime for him due to apparent condition from pictures and video and especially the location where these things just don't happen for years.  It was worth a 3k deposit risk not to lose the chance to buy it if it turned out to be ok.

I booked him some flights, dropped him at the airport at 5am for a day trip.  I had a couple of conversations up front which resulted in the lawyer making the notary appointment, the estate agent he was buying from agreed to chaperone him to the meeting from the airport and back again by car, a viewing of his property some miles away from the notary and threw in a trip to the Tabac, all free of charge.  The agent even offered him a place to stay over free of charge too if he wanted.

It cost about 150 quid for the return flights and he was back by 6:30 the same evening all set and ready to go.  Maybe your agent / lawyer could do something similar?

If its the utilities that are your main concern and you need an NIE for these then you don't have to be in Spain to get an NIE, you can get one from the Spanish consulate in the U.K. I am not sure on the processing times but may be worth a call to them to find out the process. 

I am in IRELAND not UK and The solicitor said The NIE people will only accent POA signed in SPAIN.

I am going out for a week on 11th March and staying in a local 2 star hotel at very good price.

I believe That it can take several weeks after signing POA to get The NIE

and I cant Get electricity in my name until then ,so the incentive is there for the vendor (house Owner) to Get the Power cut off. (does she have to pay to get it cut off I dont know  ?

As My solicitor said it could cost 800 euro to get utilities re-connected

regards

 michael

Hi, apologies for assuming you were from the U.K.

However to get an NIE you can do this yourself via your nearest Spanish consulate. You do not need a POA for an NIE. You just apply at the consulate in your home country. 

As for the utilities, it doesn't cost anything for the vendor to get the power cut off. It's the reconnection that costs if they do cut the supply supply. 

However my utilities were set up with just a passport number initially then the NIE added at a later date. Find out who the utility companies are and contact them yourself as most of them have English speaking depts nowadays. Explain the situation and see what they advise. 

Thank you for your reply

Very interesting. 

When did you buy ??? 

Maybe the rules have changed since then

Why would my Spanish solicitor tel me that they would not accept a  POA made outside Spain.? 

Maybe he is incompetent

A POA and an NIE are different things, from what I understand you want to give your solicitor a power of attorney (POA) to set up your utilities and deal with things on your behalf? For this they would need a POA to act on your behalf. 

However an NIE is your like a National insurance/ tax reference number and we use it for everything related to money and transactions with councils, medical etc. Its like an I.D number. The NIE can be obtained outside of Spain via a Spanish consul / embassy. In your case the one in Dublin can issue you one. You can obtain an NIE yourself. It has nothing to do with a POA. 

I've been here over 15 years so things may have changed regarding registering utilities, however all they were interested in was a Spanish Bank account to pay the bills and some form of I.D which was a passport. 

Thanks again,

It probably does not matter to me if I get the NIE ln Dublin or Spain as I will not be going to  my house in Spain until the weather is more tolerable like in Sept/ Oct and the Selling agent tells me that the Vendor keeps paying the utilities  until completion of sale.

Thanks again for your advice, Maybe we could meet up over a pint when I am there in March and benefit from your vast knowledge and experience.

kind regards

Michael

Hi, we have a holiday home in Mallorca. Monthly electric bill about 20€ when not there. Apart from the hassle and delays in reconnecting, definitely pay the monthly Bill and change user when you get the DNI.

You need an NIE to buy a property anyway, regardless of the utilities.

I would suggest that, in advance of when you come to Spain on the week of 11th March, you either get your NIE in RoI or you ask your Spanish solicitor to arrange for you to get it when you're here. They should be able to complete the application on your behalf and book an appointment at the Foreigner's Office at the appropriate police station for you to do so.

Regarding the POA, I would suggest that you make this only for the purposes of buying a house, etc and also make it time-bound (I.e. it has an expiry date), otherwise you are giving the solicitor (who I guess you may not know at all, or very well) power to act on your behalf over almost anything.

With the utilities, you should find out who the supplier is (e.g. Iberdrola), contact them (as Dax says, they will all have English-speaking departments, but be patient, as they may need to call you back) - and arrange for them to complete a Homemove / Change of Tenancy for the date at which the property becomes yours. You will need to provide your bank details and then, just like in the UK (and RoI) they will finish the contract with the vendor and start a new contract with you on the day you start to own the property. Almost all meters in Spain are Smart Meters, so they shouldn't even need a meter reading from that day.

Hope this helps!