# Buying in Spain.



## Alan K (Dec 31, 2017)

I have just returned from Torrevieja on a property finding mission. I looked at several properties in my price range and think i've found one. But i was asked by the agent to give them 3000 euros as a reservation fee, and 300 euros from the lawyer to start proceedings, is this normal practice. Now i am back home (UK), i am unsure what to do. 
Any advise please.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

Yes, standard regarding reservation fee - on the Costa del Sol this is usually 6,000 €. Usually you would pay this deposit when a price has been agreed. This takes the property off the market, and allows the lawyer to start due diligence etc. 

Obviously each lawyer is different.....find your own lawyer in the area if you are unhappy with paying upfront. 

If you are slightly concerned with giving the deposit to your agent, then you can usually make this deposit in the lawyer´s escrow account. If they are legitimate agents, this shouldn´t be an issue for them.


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## Alan K (Dec 31, 2017)

That's great Thank you. I was introduced to the lawyer but the agent (Remax) so i'm guessing that he is reputable.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alan K said:


> That's great Thank you. I was introduced to the lawyer but the agent (Remax) so i'm guessing that he is reputable.


It is generally considered to be anything but a good idea to use a lawyer recommended by the estate agent - you should find your own, in order to be sure they are acting solely in your interests as the buyer.

When I bought my first property in Spain almost 14 years ago, I did pay a reservation deposit. However, the property market is very different today, and when I bought my second one last year (after selling the first) I saw no reason to pay an initial deposit to have the property taken off the market at a time when buyers are not exactly queuing up to snap up properties. I just told the agent that I would be ready to proceed immediately my lawyer had carried out the necessary checks (which was done within a couple of days) and paid my 10% deposit at that stage. 

It is quite normal to lodge funds up front with your lawyer to pay for the deposit, legal and notary fees. I did so both times, and the balance left over after completion was refunded to me very promptly.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

danboy20 said:


> Obviously each lawyer is different.....find your own lawyer in the area if you are unhappy with paying upfront.
> 
> If you are slightly concerned with giving the deposit to your agent, then you can usually make this deposit in the lawyer´s escrow account. If they are legitimate agents, this shouldn´t be an issue for them.


That is what we have always done.


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## Alan K (Dec 31, 2017)

Thank you, i am actually on-line looking right now, as much as i like the agent, it would be wise to shop around.


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## Alan K (Dec 31, 2017)

That's good to know. He quoted me 1300 euros plus tax, does that sound reasonable? I'm guessing the tax is 10 percent?


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Alan K said:


> That's good to know. He quoted me 1300 euros plus tax, does that sound reasonable? I'm guessing the tax is 10 percent?


His fees will be plus IVA. which is VAT.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alan K said:


> That's good to know. He quoted me 1300 euros plus tax, does that sound reasonable? I'm guessing the tax is 10 percent?



It tends to be related to the cost of the property. I think mine charged 1% of the purchase price, and as Isobella said, the tax will be IVA which is 21%.

It's not so much the cost of the lawyer you need to be concerned about, though, but whether, if there is a cosy business relationship between them and the estate agent in which the lawyer benefits from a steady stream of referrals from the agent, are they going to be as vigilant as they should be in representing your interests as the buyer, or making sure nothing stops a sale going through for which their estate agent mate earns a hefty comission?


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## Alan K (Dec 31, 2017)

That was my concern, i have just done some research on the lawyer in question and according to the web site, he comes highly recommended. I shall make some more inquires.
Thank you.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

Lynn R said:


> It tends to be related to the cost of the property. I think mine charged 1% of the purchase price, and as Isobella said, the tax will be IVA which is 21%.
> 
> It's not so much the cost of the lawyer you need to be concerned about, though, but whether, if there is a cosy business relationship between them and the estate agent in which the lawyer benefits from a steady stream of referrals from the agent, are they going to be as vigilant as they should be in representing your interests as the buyer, or making sure nothing stops a sale going through for which their estate agent mate earns a hefty comission?


If you are selling lots of properties, it´s not really in the interests of an agent to recommend a bad lawyer.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Honestly, I would _never_ use a lawyer who was a friend of the agent! There are so many cases where buyers have found out years later that a blind eye was turned over some legality issue that an independent solicitor would have picked up on. Of course you will only read good reviews on the website ... but it's your choice.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Technically if an offer has been accepted then there is no point in paying anyone to take it off the market, they can not sell it to anyone else legally speaking so find a lawyer who will remind them of the law and then will write up a pre contract that has the stipulation that you are free to pull out if the property is not up to scratch legally and once they ave signed that then feel free to pay a deposit, preferably in a neutral account.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

I paid a deposit because my understanding was that doing so was the way to have my offer and its acceptance acknowledged "legally", meaning that I agreed to buy, they agreed to sell to me, and that if either of us dropped out there would be a penalty involved.

I happily handed over the money because it seemed to me better than the UK situation, in which a seller can pull out after a buyer has had a survey and spent money.

I followed the usual advice and turned down the agent's offer of a lawyer they usually worked with.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

That is not right really, at least to the letter of the law.

We went through the process 3 times, eventually buying the third one.
In Spain a verbal contract is all that is really needed, this could be hard to prove if it came to it but if you had a text or email confirming the offer was accepted then you are certainly good to go.

The only money we parted with was for the 3rd house and paid the full deposit with a contract stating that if the house was not fully leagalised and only when we had guarantees that is was even possible to do so. Prior to that we signed another pre-contract that declares intent to buy, yadda, yadda but that was more for the agents piece of mind. If they did ask for the 3 grand or 2 or whatever to take it off the market our lawyer put them straight.

Even then the couple selling hired a well known Brit to do there leg work, she was hopeless and we could of demanded twice our deposit back, twice.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

End of the day, you are using an agent for their knowledge of the local property market, and the best way to purchase it without any problems....if you don´t trust their advice, then use another agent. 

It´s stupid to not use a lawyer simply because an agent recommends them. We recommend some of the best lawyers on the coast because they are excellent at their job - which benefits our clients, and us, in the sense that a good lawyer makes things go smoothly, and can save many problems.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

Pazcat said:


> Technically if an offer has been accepted then there is no point in paying anyone to take it off the market, they can not sell it to anyone else legally speaking so find a lawyer who will remind them of the law and then will write up a pre contract that has the stipulation that you are free to pull out if the property is not up to scratch legally and once they ave signed that then feel free to pay a deposit, preferably in a neutral account.


This is nonsense in practice.

What seller would agree to an offer if there was no deposit attached to it? I can tell you the answer - NONE.

"I have an offer, but they are not willing to reserve it with a deposit" 

It´s a sign that the offer is serious, and a show of trust and obligation between the two parties. 

Due diligence is rarely done in two days....great if you can manage this! Surely a buyer takes an even bigger risk by paying 10% before his lawyer has checked the legality of the property and sale? Who would pay this? And what seller would agree not to sell the property during due dilligence if no deposit had been made?

They are not obliged to sell to anyone.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Rubbish, it's how it works.
If your house is legal or you are prepared to legalise it then there shouldn't be an issue, but they rarely are. So paying a deposit on house without even knowing the legalities of it is just stupid, twice as stupid if you don't protect yourself from the owners inability to sort it out.

Jeez I can make you sort it out first then you get your offer if you like, fact is a verbal contract stands in Spain and nobody anywhere in the world will drop a deposit with their offer.

But yeah your in the business so no wonder you need to protect dodgy and legally not needed practices.

Sure you can have the offer accepted and pay the full deposit straight away with an appropriate contract that states if the property is illegal you can pull out with deposit returned, that is fair. What is not fair is paying an agent a fee initially to have it taken off the market for conveyancing , it is not legally required and bad practice that ultimately will lead to a sale lost.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

Pazcat said:


> Rubbish, it's how it works.
> If your house is legal or you are prepared to legalise it then there shouldn't be an issue, but they rarely are. So paying a deposit on house without even knowing the legalities of it is just stupid, twice as stupid if you don't protect yourself from the owners inability to sort it out.
> 
> Jeez I can make you sort it out first then you get your offer if you like, fact is a verbal contract stands in Spain and nobody anywhere in the world will drop a deposit with their offer.
> ...


Total nonsense


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## trotter58 (Feb 8, 2017)

Alan K said:


> I have just returned from Torrevieja on a property finding mission. I looked at several properties in my price range and think i've found one. But i was asked by the agent to give them 3000 euros as a reservation fee, and 300 euros from the lawyer to start proceedings, is this normal practice. Now i am back home (UK), i am unsure what to do.
> Any advise please.


Important.....
(1) Employ your own independent lawyer. Ask on this & other forums for personal recommendations.
(2) Get your lawyer to check the agents sales contract and then draw up an amended one that better protects your interests before parting with any money.

Good luck with your mission. :fingerscrossed:


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

danboy20 said:


> Due diligence is rarely done in two days....great if you can manage this! Surely a buyer takes an even bigger risk by paying 10% before his lawyer has checked the legality of the property and sale? Who would pay this? And what seller would agree not to sell the property during due dilligence if no deposit had been made?
> 
> They are not obliged to sell to anyone.


According to my lawyer, two days to do the due diligence is not at all unusual if the vendor already has all the required documents (habitation licence, energy certificate, etc.) and it doesn't take two days to get a nota simple (we've just obtained one for a friend who wants to put her property on the market).

I certainly didn't pay the 10% deposit before the due diligence had been carried out. I had an offer to buy the property accepted on a Monday, the estate agent took the paperwork to my lawyer that afternoon who did the due diligence immediately and by Wednesday morning was able to advise me that there were no problems, the vendor and I signed the contract on Wednesday lunchtime and I transferred the 10% deposit to my lawyer who paid it to the vendor, and we arranged to complete at the notary the following Monday, which we did. The vendor had no complaints at all about the speed of the process nor the seriousness of my intent. I asked my lawyer if that was exceptionally fast for a sale to be completed, and she said no, she had experienced ones completed in less time.

As to a seller agreeing not to sell the property to someone else during due diligence, in today's market they would be exceptionally lucky to find someone else wanting to buy the property within the timescale that due diligence takes.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Seriously, advocating gazumping is a great advertisement. It is illegal in Spain Why? Because a verbal contract is all that is needed. Technically.

Just look it up online, all the abogados say this.....

_The Spanish Civil Code stipulates that where offer and acceptance are met, there is a binding agreement. Both offer and acceptance can adopt the form of a written contract or a simple verbal agreement. However, in order to enforce a verbal agreement in a court of law you need to prove it took place, and for that purpose you will need proof by means of witnesses. Otherwise, the defaulting party might have performed actions that amount to an irrebutable presumption of the existence of that verbal agreement._

I guess we can find the actual ley if you still have questions.

This is a perfect example of why it is recommended to use an independent lawyer. Too many cowboys around that ignore the rules.

The nota simple is another thing to note too, really you shouldn't even put an offer in without seeing it first. Especially if you are getting a mortgage as the bank needs it to work out how much they will lend you and they wont even look at ones for rural properties. So you can't put an offer in unless you know how much you can offer.
Yet some agents wont do this until an offer has been made. Ridiculous. 
Anyone selling should have the relevant documents at hand.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Pazcat said:


> That is not right really, at least to the letter of the law.
> 
> We went through the process 3 times, eventually buying the third one.
> In Spain a verbal contract is all that is really needed, this could be hard to prove if it came to it but if you had a text or email confirming the offer was accepted then you are certainly good to go.


So not a verbal agreement then, a written one.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Horlics said:


> So not a verbal agreement then, a written one.


Obviously it is much easier to prove that way, but a verbal agreement will stand up in court if there are witnesses and such. It's quite normal to view a house and say we will think about it and get back to you. Like I say in our situation we needed the nota simple before you could make and offer so you already have a line of contact and just do business via emails. Often at this point the lawyer is in cc for it all too.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Pazcat said:


> Rubbish, it's how it works.
> If your house is legal or you are prepared to legalise it then there shouldn't be an issue, but they rarely are. So paying a deposit on house without even knowing the legalities of it is just stupid, twice as stupid if you don't protect yourself from the owners inability to sort it out.
> 
> Jeez I can make you sort it out first then you get your offer if you like, fact is a verbal contract stands in Spain and nobody anywhere in the world will drop a deposit with their offer.
> ...


I don't know if it's rubbish. It seems to me you did exactly what I did, which is you had a "pre-agreement", the later large deposit, followed by settlement in full at the end. There is one difference, you say you didn't hand over the usual initial payment at the time of the "pre-agreement".

It would be interesting (although not *that* interesting) to know what financial commitment was in that pre -agreement. I wonder if it said that the deposit, although not paid, was agreed to, in the sense that you would be expected to hand it over if you pulled out the next day for no good reason.

Otherwise, what is the point of the pre-agreement if there is no commitment on either side. I can't image why an agent would bother spending the time creating such an agreement if it was entirely non-binding.

Something's not right here.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Pazcat said:


> .... and nobody anywhere in the world will drop a deposit with their offer.....


I did. Everybody I know who has bought in Spain did. I suspect Dannyboy knows lot of people who have.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

The thing is if you sign and pay the reservation agreement then it has started proper so then why pay the 10 percent deposit later?

The pre agreement was basically an agreement to sell/buy given the legality of the house was assured and when the bank had agreed to release funds which was more important. At this point you can pay your deposit.
There was no agreement to pay money if you pull out because it was stipulated the property must have no issues, if there was we walk away, which we did at no cost to us twice. Which is exactly why you do not hand over any money for a reservation agreement and sign whatever the agent puts in front of you.
I mean you can, it isn't a big deal but make sure your lawyer approves the contract first or rewrites it. Each time they provided a pre-contract our lawyer told them it was nonsense and re-did it. There was never any complaints.

And given the letter of the law states that at time of acceptance the contract has started there is no need to have the house off the market, just you are first in. Given that many properties are advertised by multiple agents why bother at all.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Horlics said:


> I did. Everybody I know who has bought in Spain did. I suspect Dannyboy knows lot of people who have.



Like I say it is not a problem if you do but you need to have the right protections in place first, hence the re-writing of the standard contract they provide.
The only real reason to walk out of a contract is if the property has too many issues and a lot of people lose this initial deposit because of the contract they signed at first. No doubt most of the time it is fine too.
It's just unnecessary and like I said if you have a mortgage then you can't really proceed until the bank say what they will release the funds which is on a house by house basis, it changes things. You can't pay a deposit without the funds in pocket.

The state of the property needs to be considered too, if it is good to go then no probs but most of the properties here need regularization, a process that can take months depending on the issues and I would never put money down until that has been resolved because as we found out sometimes things are unresolvable, which is part of the initial contract we sign.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

A deposit with a reservation is standard practice on the Costa-del-Sol, and most vendors will want PROOF a deposit has been made BEFORE agreeing to the sale in principle and reservation contract....so forget ´they accepted an offer´ a genuine offer we make is in contract form from the start, not some verbal agreement over the phone!

This is also a beneficial practice for the buyer. Imagine you are waiting for a mortgage, and due diligence (which contrary to the experts on here, the average time is 7-10 days) is taking place, would you really want your dream home to be shown to other people whilst you are waiting for the bank to make it´s mind up, and carry out their own surveys?

Or would you want to take the property off the market whist this is happening? 

And contrary to the experts on here, the market is definitely getting more competitive. So if I was a buyer, and I found my dream home, I would want the legal assurances that came with a proper reservation contract + deposit. 

Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but this is how it is done by all estate agencies I´ve worked for!! I´m sure the experts know differently.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

A couple of years ago, a British couple we had met on several occasions found a house they wanted to buy in our town. They were on the point of handing over a reservation deposit and signing the estate agency's contract, the agent having assured them (within my husband's hearing as they were sitting at the next table in a bar at the time) that there were no issues with the property and no outstanding debts.

We persuaded them to consult a lawyer first. Two days later (same timescale as my latest purchase, please note, although this was a different lawyer) she advised them that there was a €30k mortgage on the property and that it was only registered as a single storey dwelling although in fact it had been completely reformed and was now a three storey house.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

It's a total con job, who cares if the house is "off the market" or not. Once the offer has been accepted then legally it can not be sold to anyone else so yeah by all means let others take a look. They tried that threat with us and we were fine with it still being marketed, with a gentle reminder that if sold to someone else then you will end up in court and you would lose.
Plus it is still on the market with many other agents so the whole situation is a mess.

Either the paperwork is up to scratch and you can get it done quickly or the house has issues and they need to be fixed before parting with any money.
The sooner they regulate this market the better, most houses around here aren't fit for sale. They totally can be but surely fix the issues before bringing to market.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

I doubt if many buyers would go to court if the property were sold to someone else. Too costly and takes years. The last house we sold in Spain they didn't pay a deposit for around two months as they had trouble with the mortgage. I wouldn't even pay the €3/6000 deposit until Lawyer gave the all clear on every bit of paperwork. Forums used to be full of people not getting back their money from unscrupulous agents.

A deposit doesn't always guarantee it will be taken off the market either. Some smaller agents websites have properties on sale long after they have been sold. Saw one of ours over a year after it was sold!


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

Lynn R said:


> A couple of years ago, a British couple we had met on several occasions found a house they wanted to buy in our town. They were on the point of handing over a reservation deposit and signing the estate agency's contract, the agent having assured them (within my husband's hearing as they were sitting at the next table in a bar at the time) that there were no issues with the property and no outstanding debts.
> 
> We persuaded them to consult a lawyer first. Two days later (same timescale as my latest purchase, please note, although this was a different lawyer) she advised them that there was a €30k mortgage on the property and that it was only registered as a single storey dwelling although in fact it had been completely reformed and was now a three storey house.


You will hear some horror stories of course. 

Having said that, had they paid a reservation deposit, and the problems you mentioned were found, then the deposit would be fully refunded - so you didn´t really save them from anything at all - unless you are implying this estate agency were criminals?

Do you advise estate agents do due diligence on every property they list before listing them for sale? 

What you have explained is the system working perfectly. 

Of course any reservation deposit is refundable if there are any issues.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

Isobella said:


> I wouldn't even pay the €3/6000 deposit until Lawyer gave the all clear on every bit of paperwork. Forums used to be full of people not getting back their money from unscrupulous agents.
> 
> A deposit doesn't always guarantee it will be taken off the market either. Some smaller agent´s websites have properties on sale long after they have been sold. Saw one of ours over a year after it was sold!



Of course, if you want to do due diligence without reserving the property, then the seller can sell to anyone they want in the meantime - it´s the risk you take. Paying a lawyer, to research a property that ends up being sold to someone else. 

Another point is that many people - especially Spanish - won´t give all documents without a reservation contract being signed. Also, the buyer´s lawyer will sometimes need to be in contact with the vendor´s lawyer - why would you allow this if no proper reservation has been made?

Agents in Spain share properties with 1000s of other agencies, so of course it can be difficult to tell every agency a property is ´off market´ hence sold properties sometimes remaining on agent´s websites. 

What ´off market´ means in reality, is that the vendor cannot accept any other offers in the time period stipulated in the contract - which is what counts at the end of the day.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Isobella said:


> I doubt if many buyers would go to court if the property were sold to someone else. Too costly and takes years. The last house we sold in Spain they didn't pay a deposit for around two months as they had trouble with the mortgage. I wouldn't even pay the €3/6000 deposit until Lawyer gave the all clear on every bit of paperwork. Forums used to be full of people not getting back their money from unscrupulous agents.
> 
> A deposit doesn't always guarantee it will be taken off the market either. Some smaller agents websites have properties on sale long after they have been sold. Saw one of ours over a year after it was sold!


When we sold, in May last year, our buyers did use the lawyer recommended by the estate agent. After we accepted their offer, we were advised by the agent 48 hours later that the buyers would be going ahead and paying the 10% deposit as the lawyer had undertaken all the necessary checks, subject to a structural survey (they used the surveyor recommended by the estate agent, too). There was never any mention of a reservation deposit being paid, and we as vendors certainly didn't ask for one.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> When we sold, in May last year, our buyers did use the lawyer recommended by the estate agent. After we accepted their offer, we were advised by the agent 48 hours later that the buyers would be going ahead and paying the 10% deposit as the lawyer had undertaken all the necessary checks, subject to a structural survey (they used the surveyor recommended by the estate agent, too). There was never any mention of a reservation deposit being paid, and we as vendors certainly didn't ask for one.


That is the way it should be done where possible, this area has many properties with issues though and whilst they are normally fixable the seller needs to fix them before the deposit gets paid That is the common practice here so as that is happening both seller and buyer can take heart that the law is very clear when it comes to contracts and that if someone else comes along, doesn't care about the irregularities and offers twice as much the property will not be sold in the mean time. It also takes into account the intent of the contract made so by proving the only hold up is waiting for the bank and progress is being done they can't sell it on to a cash buyer.

To be clear normally within 24 to 48 hours a pre contract has been signed with some basics but no money changes hands as it is not a requirement, but certainly don't sign that contract without letting your lawyer rewrite it.

There is zero need to pay anything as a reservation.

Real Decreto de 24 de julio de 1889, texto de la edici?n del C?digo Civil mandada publicar en cumplimiento de la Ley de 26 de mayo ?ltimo. T?TULO II.?De los contratos
_
Artículo 1258

Los contratos se perfeccionan por el mero consentimiento, y desde entonces obligan, no sólo al cumplimiento de lo expresamente pactado, sino también a todas las consecuencias que, según su naturaleza, sean conformes a la buena fe, al uso y a la ley.

Artículo 1262

El consentimiento se manifiesta por el concurso de la oferta y de la aceptación sobre la cosa y la causa que han de constituir el contrato.

Hallándose en lugares distintos el que hizo la oferta y el que la aceptó, hay consentimiento desde que el oferente conoce la aceptación o desde que, habiéndosela remitido el aceptante, no pueda ignorarla sin faltar a la buena fe. El contrato, en tal caso, se presume celebrado en el lugar en que se hizo la oferta.

En los contratos celebrados mediante dispositivos automáticos hay consentimiento desde que se manifiesta la aceptación.
_


Like I said get it in an email and then there can be no doubts, have a witness there too be it a lawyer, gestor etc... 
Better yet just deal with the seller direct, cut out the hounds.
Lawyers and gestors sort the BS because they are held accountable.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Pazcat said:


> To be clear normally within 24 to 48 hours a pre contract has been signed with some basics but no money changes hands as it is not a requirement, but certainly don't sign that contract without letting your lawyer rewrite it.
> 
> There is zero need to pay anything as a reservation.
> 
> ...


I certainly agree that a contract shouldn't be signed without letting your lawyer rewrite it. When I bought my first property in Spain the estate agent had included in the pre-contract a clause saying that I as the buyer would pay the plus valia. If my lawyer hadn't said no way, that is the responsibility of the vendor, I wouldn't have been any the wiser.

I'm not so sure that dealing with the seller direct is always better, though. I did lose one property before we eventually bought the one we have now . it was a private sale and the vendor had no problem providing all the paperwork (which checked out fine) to my lawyer without any kind of deposit being paid nor a contract signed. When we said we were happy and our lawyer was drawing up the contract to be signed the next day, at which point the 10% deposit would be paid, the vendor flipped and said she was not prepared to have the contract drawn up by my lawyer, she wanted to draw it up herself (not that she was any kind of legal professional, but a primary school teacher). Lord knows what she thought she was going to put in it, but I refused and she would not go ahead with the sale. The property had been on the market since 2014 and still is today, more than 6 months later. I lost €250 in legal costs for the work already done by the lawyer, but she lost a cash buyer who was willing to pay her full asking price and complete within a month. Crazy.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

Pazcat said:


> That is the way it should be done where possible, this area has many properties with issues though and whilst they are normally fixable the seller needs to fix them before the deposit gets paid That is the common practice here so as that is happening both seller and buyer can take heart that the law is very clear when it comes to contracts and that if someone else comes along, doesn't care about the irregularities and offers twice as much the property will not be sold in the mean time. It also takes into account the intent of the contract made so by proving the only hold up is waiting for the bank and progress is being done they can't sell it on to a cash buyer.
> 
> To be clear normally within 24 to 48 hours a pre contract has been signed with some basics but no money changes hands as it is not a requirement, but certainly don't sign that contract without letting your lawyer rewrite it.
> 
> ...




You don´t live in the real world, and clearly have no real experience of how things actually work in Spanish real estate.

Most vendors won´t accept a reservation if there is no proof of a deposit being made - what part of that don´t you understand?


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Hey you took the link out your sig.

Sensible given your dribble and admission of intent to break Spanish law.

Right Casa, lol.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

Pazcat said:


> Hey you took the link out your sig.
> 
> Sensible given your dribble and admission of intent to break Spanish law..


No, sometimes it´s in the footer, sometimes not.

I´m breaking no laws at all - just living in the real world, with real people, and real property transactions. 

I feel sorry for anyone who actually listens to your moronic, know it all dirge.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

No, you physically have to remove it like I have here.


Presented with actual Spanish contract law and still states otherwise.

It worked for trump I guess.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Sig back.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

Pazcat said:


> No, you physically have to remove it like I have here.
> 
> 
> Presented with actual Spanish contract law and still states otherwise.
> ...


I did no such thing Mr Know It All......Don´t flatter yourself!! 

Have a look through my posts and you will see it appear sometimes, and sometimes it doesn´t!

But you know best I guess.....


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

You can even look through this thread to satisfy yourself!!! Sometimes there, sometimes not!!!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Earlier today, I had occasion to look up some correspondence relating to the sale of my previous home, to help a friend who is putting her house on the market.. This is what the estate agent said regarding the payment of the deposit and taking the property off the market:-


" 1. A 10% deposit is to be paid by 12/04/2017 As a sign of good faith we request that you allow 5 days for the buyers lawyer to check the property paperwork and not accept another offer during this period.

2. The purchaser understands that we will not remove your property from the market/websites until the 10% deposit is paid."

This seems to me a much more ethical and fair way to deal with things than demanding the payment of a sizeable reservation deposit before the due diligence has been done, and I would be far happier to deal with an agent who treats their clients in this way - they obviously do exist.


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## danboy20 (Jul 10, 2017)

It´s very rare, but of course some deals can be structured in different ways. 

But look at the wording in that note - you want to rely on ´good faith´ if someone comes along and offers 20,000 more? Really? You are basically leaving everything to chance that someone comes along and buys the property from underneath you!! It even says the property remains on the market! Whereas a proper reservation contract and deposit takes it off the market completely....for diligence, and even so the bank can survey the house, and decide on a mortgage. 

And it´s not just the big bad, blood thirsty agents that demand a reservation deposit - MOST sellers and LAWYERS are used to this way of working!!! 

Don´t understand why you find it so difficult to believe someone such as myself, who has worked in property for years. 

I´m not going to get into this argument again, because it seems there are people on this forum, who know best, even when they have professional people telling them how things actually work. It´s like talking to a brick wall.

Back to the real world...... a recent email from a seller´s lawyer confirming that a deposit has been made (how things work in 90% of property transactions):

*Dear _______, 

I just wanted to present myself as ------------------lawyer. I have been in touch with the buyer's lawyer. 

Please let me know if you already have received the signed contract and be kind and confirm that the reservation's amount is already within your escrow account.

Have a nice evening

____*


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## JimmyLocksDad (Nov 2, 2017)

I think you've hit the nail on the head Dannyboy


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