# Purchase of Apartment



## catherinemacunningham (Nov 7, 2016)

I have to make final payment on apartment in February by euro bank draft. I am opening a new Spanish bank account in advance and they have advised that there will be a charge of €300 for this bank draft. A similar bank draft in Ireland would cost €2.60!! As the purchase is in euro and the sellor is from the UK could I get my bank draft in Ireland and bring it with me to the signing? Any advice?


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## mono (Jan 22, 2016)

I would give it a try. But I don't think they should insist on a bank draft. Surely you could be allowed to send a FX or simikar to your solicitor's account? I would get some official advice, £300 is robbery


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

mono said:


> I would give it a try. But I don't think they should insist on a bank draft. Surely you could be allowed to send a FX or simikar to your solicitor's account? I would get some official advice, £300 is robbery


0,004% is standard rate for any bank cheque. I.e. It'll cost you 400€ for each 100k on cheque.
cash costs nothing. why do you think everyone used it ?


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## catherinemacunningham (Nov 7, 2016)

So this bank have capped it at €300 so that appears then to be a good deal?


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## mono (Jan 22, 2016)

Is cash possible in your case? Would solve a problem and as Gus-lopez said it is common. I used cash when I bought a small house in Italy a few years ago. Mind, it was really cheap. My sister used part cash, part cheque when she bought in Spain about ten years ago


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Cash transactions of over 1000€ are no longer permitted. 

Los pagos de más de 1.000 euros en efectivo se sancionarán con un 25% | economia | EL MUNDO


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## skip o (Aug 1, 2011)

When I bought my apartment Sabadell had some ridiculous charge for making the payment to the seller too. I don't remember exactly, but the cost was a few hundred euros OR I could buy their home insurance and get it for free. 

I came from the US where every bank account I had was free, check writing was free AND I earned interest. In Spain, every bank I looked into had quarterly or annual fees, fees for doing almost everything, and paid zero interest (for me, maybe it is different for nationals or Europeans). I can reduce the Spanish fees by adding money to my bank account periodically but, since it pays no interest, it isn't worth it. So most of my money stays in my US accounts.


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## catherinemacunningham (Nov 7, 2016)

It is not legal to use cash now but I was just wondering if I could bring a bank draft from Ireland as it is still all euro but it doesn't seem possible so will have to accept that the bank charges in Spain are very high


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## catherinemacunningham (Nov 7, 2016)

I will have a look to see if the offer of home insurance is available, although as I have an apartment house insurance is covered via the community charge so it is most likely only contents insurance I will be seeking but thank you and yes the account recommended for me has monthly charges etc something which I am not used to in Ireland either


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## rspltd (Jul 5, 2016)

Use a currency transfer company.


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## tmarshall57 (Jan 17, 2017)

I recently completed on a property and had already set up a bank account with Sabadell. When I looked at the small print, the cost of a bank draft was looking like 300 €. I spoke to my bank contact who said that this would be reduced to 20 - 30 € if I took out their property insurance (cost 225 €).

I ended up making 3 money transfers of slightly different amounts to the seller (SAREB) 2 days before completion and emailing the transfer proofs to Solvia who were acting for SAREB. You would perhaps not want to risk thi approach with a private seller unless there is an escrow arrangement in place.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

When we purchased, we had to use a bank draft and it had to come from a Spanish Account. Yes charges here are steep. We negotiated a lower rate with our bank


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## trotter58 (Feb 8, 2017)

catherinemacunningham said:


> I will have a look to see if the offer of home insurance is available, although as I have an apartment house insurance is covered via the community charge so it is most likely only contents insurance I will be seeking but thank you and yes the account recommended for me has monthly charges etc something which I am not used to in Ireland either


I would be wary of only buying contents insurance. You may find that your community insurance, like ours, only covers rebuilding the shell of the apartment block. You'll still need building & contents insurance for your own apartment to cover bathroom & kitchen fittings, lighting, wiring, plumbing, Flooring etc. (in the event of total loss).

Our bank, Sabadell, offered us a reduction in our apartment insurance when we paid for our bank draft. Just before renewal we gave the required 1 month notice and cancelled to get a more competitive price.


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## tmarshall57 (Jan 17, 2017)

trotter58 said:


> I would be wary of only buying contents insurance. You may find that your community insurance, like ours, only covers rebuilding the shell of the apartment block. You'll still need building & contents insurance for your own apartment to cover bathroom & kitchen fittings, lighting, wiring, plumbing, Flooring etc. (in the event of total loss).
> 
> Our bank, Sabadell, offered us a reduction in our apartment insurance when we paid for our bank draft. Just before renewal we gave the required 1 month notice and cancelled to get a more competitive price.


I was advised by the bank that community insurance for apartments covers only the rebuilding of all common areas including the external fabric of the building. All of the internal walls, your half of the floor/ceiling plus all fixtures and fittings would not be covered by contents only insurance.


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