# Seeking recommended English speaking solicitor



## Piquet (Nov 5, 2013)

Me again!

It's been recommended that we appoint our own legal adviser for the purchase of an apartment by Lake Maggiore. Have been in contact with a couple of them, one says €200 per hour, the other is offering a flat rate of 1% with a minimum of €2,000.

Any suggestions/experiences to pass on?


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## Ligman (Jun 26, 2011)

Hi
We used an English speaking legal advisor but I understand it is not a requirement. Our Notario would not let us buy the house without a translation of all the documents which was going to be very expensive. The alternative was that our legal advisor was allowed to have power of attorney for this transaction only and signed on our behalf (No translation required) but he was expected to explain the ins and out of the transaction. He charged us €800 but I felt we were in good hands rather than just using and paying for a translator with no legal knowledge. Unfortunately he is too far from you, but hope this info helps


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## Piquet (Nov 5, 2013)

Thanks for your reply. We have now found a solicitor: pricey, but already worth his salt. Think we'll save a few euros as he's working hard to negotiate the vendor down and reduce the agent's fee!


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## Ligman (Jun 26, 2011)

Piquet said:


> Thanks for your reply. We have now found a solicitor: pricey, but already worth his salt. Think we'll save a few euros as he's working hard to negotiate the vendor down and reduce the agent's fee!


That's good news, we don't regret having a legal advisor because he also gave us a lot of other help and advice that we wouldn't have been aware of.
Good luck with your purchase and your move!


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## caroline42 (Feb 20, 2014)

*solicitor*

Hi
I see you have found an English speaking solicitor. Does he or she live near Coimbra? We are going to buy a small ruin on a bit of land and need all the documents checked. Can you please tell me more about the solicitor/costs etc.?
Thank you for your time.


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## Piquet (Nov 5, 2013)

He's in Rome, although our apartment is in the lakes. PM me if you want more details about how we came across him, costs etc. There are lists of such solicitors on the Internet. Good luck!


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## caroline42 (Feb 20, 2014)

*solicitor*

Thank you for that. I am looking for an English speaking solicitor in Coimbra, Portugal. A shame he is so far.


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## Piquet (Nov 5, 2013)

I will PM you.


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## PumpinFe (May 25, 2014)

Hi. I am planning on buying a property in Italy. Can you explain the different between a legal advisor and a notario? How was the legal advisor able to negotiate the price for you with the vendor (seller) and the lowering of the agents fee? Isnt it the agent's job to negotiate with the price? Thanks.


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## Piquet (Nov 5, 2013)

PumpinFe said:


> Hi. I am planning on buying a property in Italy. Can you explain the different between a legal advisor and a notario? How was the legal advisor able to negotiate the price for you with the vendor (seller) and the lowering of the agents fee? Isnt it the agent's job to negotiate with the price? Thanks.


I can only speak from personal experience, and can't guarantee the accuracy of what follows, but there are plenty of online guides to buying like this one: Buying & Selling Property in Italy - Dr.Claudio Del Giudice. 

Anyway, the basic difference is that the avvocato is working for you only. Ours spoke perfect English, negotiated the price with the vendor on our behalf through the agent (who is paid equally by vendor and purchaser), arranged for the survey, got things translated, recommended a notaio and even completed for us without us being present through power of attorney. Not cheap, but very useful. The notaio is independent and legally required in order to draft and witness the signing of the atto di vendita (deed of sale). The avvocato is not required, not sure whether locals bother much, you can do it yourself, but unless your Italian is pretty good and you are are there on the ground I'd heartily recommend you find one to steer you through the process. The survey is not required but again, we found it invaluable.

Hope this helps. Let me know how things work out.


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## Piquet (Nov 5, 2013)

Forgot to add that any reduction in the agent's fee is marginal. I guess it depends on how desperate they are to make a sale! Our agent was amazing. Post sale there were some problems for us in sorting out utilities. She arranged the lot for us, even going up to the property to check all was well and giving us detailed instructions! She is still helping us out with local taxes. Think we have been very lucky and I've never heard of uch service post-sale in the UK.


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## PumpinFe (May 25, 2014)

Piquet said:


> Ours spoke perfect English, negotiated the price with the vendor on our behalf through the agent (who is paid equally by vendor and purchaser), arranged for the survey, got things translated, recommended a notaio and even completed for us without us being present through power of attorney.


Thanks I was confused by the roles Notaio and legal advisor play in the whole process, now i am more clear.

Correct me if I'm wrong - you hired a legal advisor BEFORE you even started looking for properties with an agent? Because from what I have gathered, people usually got in touch with a notaio by the recommendations from their agents. 

May I ask why you left to your legal advisor to negotiate with the vendor through the agent instead of you negotiating with the vendor through the agent yourself? So you saw a property you liked with your agent and you told your agent that from then on please speak with your legal advisor and you would tell him/her what offer you would want to put in on the property?

How did you find your legal advisor and how much did his/her service cost?

Thanks.


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## Piquet (Nov 5, 2013)

PumpinFe said:


> Thanks I was confused by the roles Notaio and legal advisor play in the whole process, now i am more clear.
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong - you hired a legal advisor BEFORE you even started looking for properties with an agent? Because from what I have gathered, people usually got in touch with a notaio by the recommendations from their agents.
> 
> ...


Not quite. We hired the solicitor once we'd found the place we wanted to offer on. We got him from a list available on the British Council website, but he was also recommended. Charges are about 2% for the basic service (the power of attorney was a quite a lot extra). We felt a lot more comfortable leaving negotiations in the hands of someone who knew what he was doing plus the legal side of things is complex and in a foreign language so we thought the solicitor was worth hiring! We actually tried to negotiate a bit directly with the agent, but weren't getting far. Our solicitor decided he wanted to use a notaio he knew, though I believe it's quite normal to use the agent's recommendation. The agent was not working for, or hired by, us. It's just that the property was advertised through this particular agent (though, as I said, she has been brilliant since the sale), though technically neutral as both sides pay fees. There is no absolute need for your own solicitor but I wouldn't have been able to handle the process myself. Hope that's a bit clearer. Ciao!


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## PumpinFe (May 25, 2014)

Piquet said:


> Hope that's a bit clearer. Ciao!



Yes. Thank you very much. (btw, when you said 2% I am assuming it was 2% of the purchase price).


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## Piquet (Nov 5, 2013)

PumpinFe said:


> Yes. Thank you very much. (btw, when you said 2% I am assuming it was 2% of the purchase price).


Indeed! PM me if you need contact details for the solicitor we used.


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