AVOIDING CROOKED LAWYERS
Buying in Greece can have its difficulties, especially in remoter areas, where nepotism and brown envelopes are common. Lawyers, vendor and estate agents have been known to deliberately mislead and misdirect foreign buyers. Whilst this practice is thankfully dying out, there is no guarantee that your lawyer is not conspiring with the vendor’s lawyer. In remote areas, they may well be related to each other, so there is no harm in protecting yourself.
FACTS ABOUT BULGARIAN PROPERTIES
Two months after joining the European Union, Bulgaria began attracting increasing interest towards local real estates. Its strategic geographic location and the membership in EU and NATO turn it into an attractive destination for property buyers. For sure, you need to have more information before investing your money into a small country with a beautiful countryside and extremely low prices for Europe.More on Facts about real estates in Bulgaria – the latest European Union member
More on Facts about real estates in Bulgaria – the latest European Union member
This is a guide to the ongoing costs involved in owning property in Spain.
Running Costs
All bills must be paid by Direct Debit from a Spanish bank account.
Electricity, Water and Gas:
The standing charges are € 15 per quarter for water, and € 15.84 every two months for a 3.3 1Kw electricity supply. On top of this there is, of course, the actual consumption.
As gas is supplied in bottles it is possible to contract for 1 or 2 bottles. The cost for 1 is approx. € 42, and for 2 apprpx. € 66 Euros. Exchange bottles cost approx. € 6, and can be obtained from Repsol Butano or delivered to the client’s property.
The following are the costs you should include on top of the purchase price when buying property in Spain.
Lawyers/Solicitor’s Fee:
Although it is not compulsory to engage a solicitor, if you are not familiar with the procedure you can appoint your own solicitor. It is important to seek professional advice from a local solicitor (Abogado). Their standard fee for the purchase of a property is 1% of the purchase price plus VAT. Using a non-local solicitor will be more expensive. The Spanish legal system is very different from other European countries and, to avoid misunderstandings, disappointments and possible fraud, it is essential to seek expert professional advice from the beginning.
Notary Fee:
These are collected by the Notary after preparing the deed and presiding over it’s signing. This fee is fixed by law, on a set scale according to the property value, but is not usually more then 1% of the purchase price including VAT.