What we do.... “A Guide to our Services”

Jonathan Ogley is the Principal of the firm. He is a UK qualified and registered solicitor, of over 30 years experience, having previously been a partner in his own and other practices.

He is a property owner himself in Spain and is Spanish speaking. We are committed to providing an independent, professional and personal service to all our UK clients “in their own language”.

We act for private clients, whether they are buying or selling a holiday home, an investment property, or taking up residence in Spain.

Whether you are buying a new build, “off plan” from a Developer or purchasing / selling an existing property

We are here to help you and guide you from start to finish. CONVEYANCING, POWERS of ATTORNEY, SPANISH WILLS, obtaining NIE numbers, SPANISH PROBATE, Returning properties to Banks. We cover most areas. Based on 30 years experience of law, Jonathan Ogley and his Associates are committed to providing you with the highest possible quality service. We will tell you what you want to know in clear, straightforward explanations, from the very start.

Your transaction is important to you - and you are important to us. We provide a professional, careful and PERSONAL service where we will also “hold your hand” in territory which may be unfamiliar to you. We will direct the entirety of the transaction.

We are based in the UK, so we are ACCESSIBLE to you.

What is involved in the purchase (and sale) of Spanish properties?

The legal procedures in Spain are different from those in England (what a surprise!).
The following information is only an outline. A detailed, explanatory letter, setting out all the steps which need to be undertaken, will be given to you after you instruct us to act for you.
Essentially, we will be undertaking a series of checks and enquiries to ensure that:-

• The Developer / Seller has the requisite ownership of the land, to be able to sell the plot and property to you.
• There are, or will be, the necessary building and planning permissions (these are usually called “Licences” in Spain) relating to the property … so that you do not have problems after you have bought.
• The monies paid by you before completion (eg the deposit and any stage payments are protected by a Bank Guarantee or Insurance Policy).
• You understand the obligations under the Contract (called a Contrato de Compraventa – the Contract of Sale and Purchase) including the consequences of any breaches of the Contract by either side.
• On completion of the purchase (when you pay over the remaining money) you actually get what you agreed to buy and that the property is not subject to any charges, or interests in favour of others.
• After completion, your ownership of the property is properly registered, so that you can legally deal with it in the future.

Important

Generally speaking, a Purchaser is legally bound to proceed with the terms of the Contract, when it is signed by the Purchaser and given to the Vendor or their Agents/Lawyers, together with the deposit monies. (This is different to the stage of mutual exchange of Contracts, when the parties then become committed to proceed, in England).
Most Vendors/Developers and their Agents are very helpful and will have explained the position to you. Also, they will often already have put in place the documentation which we need to check (as described earlier) which saves some time.
They are likely to encourage potential Purchasers to take independent legal advice, before the Contract is signed, because they will then be assured that you do want to proceed.
We advise that it is in your own interests NOT to sign anything (except perhaps a reservation form and reservation fee, provided the document is in English and you understand its terms e.g. is the reservation fee refundable if you decide not to proceed? - usually it is not!), or pay over any money until you have given us the opportunity to undertake our work and advise you.

Steps along the way

This information will be fully explained to you, so that you know what is happening, but this is an outline of some of the steps:

• Speak to us before you go - it’s free!
• You pay “reservation” deposit and then contact us.
• You send us the Contract (unsigned) and any other plans / documents / building specifications you have been given.
• We send you our client care letter, explaining what we will do and what our charges will be and what other expenses / taxes have to be paid (an estimate of these is set out at the end of this brochure). If you decide to instruct us, you return the signed client care letter to us and we then start our work.
• We make enquiries / searches and consider Contract provisions, the names in which the property should be purchased, and any mortgage considerations, in conjunction with our appointed Spanish Law firm.
• When the above is complete, we send you a detailed letter of advice, and if you decide to proceed, the signed Contract and deposit monies are transferred to the Seller / Developer / their Agents / Lawyers.
• We consider with you other associated matters, eg need for a Spanish Will, tax planning, whether there is any need to prepare a Power of Attorney (particularly if you do not want to attend completion personally at the Spanish Notary’s office).
• We liaise with you and the Seller / Developer / their Agents / Lawyers as to progress and monitor the making of any stage payments “on time” and advise you to check the condition of the property, prior to completion.
• We prepare, in conjunction with our associated Spanish law firm, and check that the matter is ready for completion (at the Spanish Notary’s office) and that the required documentation from the Seller / Developer will be available.
• Handover of keys on completion.
• Registration of title and of any mortgage and the payment of the taxes is then undertaken.

We do not leave it there!

We will be pleased to assist with other practical matters and we will agree with you in advance what the fees and disbursements will be for the following services:-

1. Obtaining your NIE (Spanish tax number identification). Each Purchaser must have an NIE to be able to proceed.
2. Opening a bank account in Spain – from which to pay direct debits, etc.
3. Preparing Power of Attorney and attendance before the Notary in the UK to execute the document.
4. Making Spanish Wills – (recommended so as to reduce future problems when dealing with the property).
5. Arrangements for connection to services, water, electricity – (developers often only provide the supply ready for individual property connection).
6. Advice on tax / inheritance matters.
7. Advice on the name(s) in which the property should be purchased.
8. Appointing a Fiscal representative in Spain who can (amongst other things):-
   
   
   • Prepare and file your compulsory tax returns by the required dates.
   • Calculate and advise you on the amount of tax to be paid.
   • Receive important notification/bills for payment on your behalf, eg rates, annual taxes, so that deadlines are not missed. NB: Late / missed payments in Spain can have much more serious consequences than in England!
   • Assisting with such matters as motor vehicle registration, payment of motor tax, arranging telephone connections, arranging Insurance.
   • Assisting you with applying for Residencia (and advising on the consequences) – if you spend 184 days or more a year in Spain, you are no longer classed as a “non resident”.

Please do not worry unnecessarily … you pay us to deal with those matters which might trouble you … leaving you free to enjoy and look forward to your new purchase.

Both we and our associated Spanish law firms are regulated by our professional bodies and we have also set our own additional QUALITY STANDARDS of service to you, so that we are truly “available” for you, e.g on working days, a response to telephone calls, faxes and emails will normally be given on the same day or the next day, and a response to letters received will normally be sent out within 48 hours.

We will also provide a telephone number for “true” emergencies.

We are LOCAL to you and so we would be delighted to meet you in person, if that is your preference.

We try to be competitive on our charges.

However, we aim to provide a better and more personalised service than some others.

Outline Estimate of fees and other disbursements / expenses

This is an estimate only of a purchase transaction involving a mortgage and a detailed breakdown will be given to you, when we know the full details of your transaction. Our estimate assumes a net purchase price of 240,000€.

As an approximate guide, you should budget for between, an extra 10% to 15% of the
purchase price, including the 7% VAT or 7% Transfer Tax.

EUROS

Our conveyancing fee *(including that of our associated Spanish lawyer)
1% of net purchase price, say of 240,000€ = .................................................... 2400
+ VAT (16% on Spanish Solicitors’ fees approximately) ........................................ 192

Spanish Stamp Duty on new build property
1% on 240,00€ = ........................................................................................... 2400

7% Spanish VAT (“IVA” or 7% Transfer Tax)
7% on 240,000€ = ...................................................................................... 16,800

NB: If you are buying off plan, you will have paid some of this
VAT already, to the Developer/Agents, within the stage payments.

Search fees charged by Town Halls etc, approx.................................................... 300

Notary’s fees for sale and purchase Deeds.… approximately................................... 800
Provision for Spanish bank cheque charges if any - estimated................................ 200
Spanish Land Registry charges - estimated ......................................................... 800
Initial payment, if any,to Community of Owners - estimated................................... 400
Charges made by services suppliers (water, electricity …) - approx.......................... 400

If buying with a Spanish mortgage of say 180,000 Euros

Mortgage tax approx 1.6% on 180,000€ (n/a on subrogated mortgage)............. 2,880

Mortgage lender's opening charge to grant loan, between 1% and 1.5%.............. 1,800

Bank's lawyers charges, approx......................................................................... 500

Mortgage broker's fee, varies, but say 1% of loan............................................. 1,800

Approximate total...................................................................................... 31,672€                                                                                                            
*There may be additional services you need us to provide and those costs will be set out in our Client Care letter to you.