I am buying a house in Spain and have paid a deposit. Now I need to pay the balance of the money. How much will a bank charge me for a bankers draft? I haven't opened a bank account in Spain yet, so I can open an account with the bank with the least charge for this service. Any advice please.

Personally, I wouldn't use a bankers draft as you will (potentially) loose a LOT of money on the exchange rate.

Open an account (non-resident) and do a currency transfer via one of the main players (CurrencyFair?). This should take no more than a couple of days.

Thanks snikpoh. I'm going to open an account in Spain and transfer money in using a foreign exchange company but then I need to pay the balance to the vendor at the Notary's office and I thought a bankers draft was safest?

Ah, a Spanish bankers draft - sorry, I thought you meant from UK.

I seem to recall that we did a transfer and had proof with us for the notary - or maybe we simply wrote a cheque ourselves. Hmmmm, got me thinking now.

We recently purchased a flat in Spain and paid both the initial deposit and the balance at closing with bank checks. Our bank (BBVA) did not charge for either check. We had to inform the bank manager that the final check was for a house purchase because he needed to do some extra paperwork for it. But again, there was no charge.

We've had the BBVA account for about 6 months now and really like it. There are no monthly maintenance fees or fees for transfers. We can do everything on-line and you can get everything in English on their website.

- Eric S.

That sounds really good, Eric S, thank you. Some of the banks seem to charge a fortune so it's nice to hear of one that doesn't.

snikpoh, no problem, it's easy to forget the detail. I'm retired and loving it too. Can't wait to have my place in the sun.

Ten years ago we had exactly the same thoughts as you that a Bankers Draft would be needed at completion at the Notary. Asked our bank (Banco Andalucia then)to supply for the due date. They nearly fell over at the thought of us spending the cost of that. They said come in on the morning of the day they would produce a counter cheque and a certificate (which would track and prove that the source of the cash was legitimate and no black money was involved).

All that cost was €20

Don't use a bankers draft if you have any other option.
Seven years ago when we bought this house our solicitor insisted on a bankers draft, it cost us 300€ for doing it that way.

The new EU banking rules on transfers you could do a direct transfer into your solicitors client (escrow) account. There is usually a limit on the amount (around £10k I think) per day so you may need to take a few days to do so. Lloyds Bank (for example) charges a fixed £10 per transfer - and you get a reasonable, although perhaps not the best, exchange rate.

Are there any safeguards on large amounts of money? If my Spanish bank crashes with my 100.000 euros, is there anything like Financial Services Compensation Scheme in UK or have I lost it? How safe is it putting money in my lawyers account? I am very nervous about losing my money.

The Spanish (EU?) safeguard limit is 85,000€ per person (joint account = twice that figure).

The EU banking safeguard is €100,000. The UK's is £85,000.

Thanks for all your help. I liked your counter cheque and certificate suggestion Esuri John.

What are your thoughts on escrow accounts at the lawyers?

I sacked my Abogada and will never willingly go back to lawyers. I have a very good Gestoria and would go direct to the Notario for other things.

Oh dear. We did think about trying to do all the legal stuff ourselves. I managed to get as far as ordering the Nota Simple, but when it came I didn't know what it meant! And I'm learning Spanish, but even then it was still too much of a mystery so we have engaged a lawyer.