Real Estate Spain - How to Protect your interests

Much has been written and said about the pitfalls of buying property in Spain. However, purchasing a property in Spain is as safe as purchasing a property in the UK, provided you have appropriate legal assistance.

The rest of this leaflet provides a general guideline on purchasing a property in Spain and related Spanish Taxes.

The aim of this introductory letter is to provide you with a guide to choosing adequate legal assistance. Several rules should be borne in mind:

1. Seek advice from a specialist in Spanish Law.
   
   Ensure that when you employ a Spanish Lawyer he or she is an Abogado, member of one of the Spanish Bars. A Gestor is not a Spanish Lawyer.
   
   There are also a number of English firms which claim to have an Overseas or Spanish Law department. Ensure that they have an in-house Spanish Abogado. Otherwise they will delegate the work to their overseas lawyers as associates or correspondents or associated offices.
2. Professional indemnity policy and the sum that it covers.
   
   Unlike Solicitors, Spanish Lawyers are not obliged to hold professional indemnity insurance. However, most of them will have some sort of professional indemnity policy. Before you instruct them, ask what is the maximum liability covered. Please remember that a cover for 187,000 EUROS is only about £125,000.
   
3. When obtaining estimates, check the work covered by the figures.
   
   Some lawyers may cut corners in the conveyancing procedure. This could have disastrous results and you may find unpleasant surprises in the future.
   
4. Beware of those who inaccurately translate their professional title to imply that they are Solicitors and/or Barristers.
   
   An Abogado is a legal professional quite different from their English counterparts. any inaccurate translation could mislead clients.
   
   Whenever someone claims to be a Solicitor or a Barrister, do not hesitate to ask them whether they are members of The Law Society or any of the Inns of Court in London.
   
   The Head of our Spanish Law Department is an Abogado, member of the Bilbao Bar. Her services are part of Baily Gibson, a firm of Solicitors established 120 years ago, regulated by The Law Society and with a professional indemnity cover of £2,000,000 per case.

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