joemillonare

We own a cortijo in a remote spot in the campo in Granada, on the escritura (deeds) it says, distribuida en varias habitaciones con una superficie de doscientos metros cuadrados y un ensanche con una superficie de veinticuatro areas que linda, por todos sus vientos con herederos.
which i belive means,
distributed in several rooms with an area of two hundred square meters and an expansion of twenty-four with a surface area bounded by all its winds to heirs.
can anyone tell me what or how much is an areas

Fred James

An área is 100m2. A hectare is 100 áreas ie 10000m2

Beachcomber

I think the reference to 'winds' means that the land is bordered in all directions by inheritors so it probably means that this was originally a largish finca which has been divided up into smaller plots on the death of the original owner.

If this is so you should ensure that you have 'servidumbre' (right of way) across at least one of the adjoining plots to a public lane or track.

Nige

In my experience, some of the language used in Escrituras is quite difficult to interpret and needs a trained lawyer type person who is familiar with the local phraseology. Also do you have the Catastro detail ? Has it been registered as well ? There is a mapping tool that can find your particular cortijo and land. http://www.goolzoom.com/ - if it has been registered then you can usually obtain some more info.

tomarense

Hi,

I'm fairly sure that this info is accurate but, as Nige says, it's always better to get legal advice.

Uma area is 100m2.

Beachcomber

'Legal advice' is a total joke in Spain. I would rather rely on my own knowledge and investigative ability.

Nige

OK - appreciate the Legal Advice is a joke, but those Escrituras are written in language that can sometimes only be interpreted by someone familiar with the wordings. I recall going to a perfect bi-lingual translation lady who spoke excellent English and Spanish, and asked her for some help with an Escritura, and frankly she didn't have a clue. Also when an Escritura is signed between a Spanish seller and someone who cannot speak the language, I always thought that there should be some translation available and was in fact a requirement of the Notario.
Sometimes it is the dodgy seller's Agent who acts in this capacity which has struck me as a bit like white water rafting now the Niagara Falls.

Beachcomber

Luckily I can rely on my wife to translate things I can't understand and she is most definitely not a member of the Spanish legal 'profession'.

tomarense

As the saying goes, even in Spain............caveat emptor!!!

Beachcomber

I would suggest that if there is anything in an escritura or nota simple you do not understand you go to the property registry or a notary, with a translator if necessary, and ask. You will get a far more accurate response than from some clueless Jack the Lad who has been to college and managed to wangle himself a law degree.

joemillonare

First let me thank you all for your very good advice, in reply to Nige I have looked at the Catastro number and it says we only own 804 m2, not 2400 m2 as it says on the escritura which goes along with what the guy that owns all the surrounding land says, he claims to have the original deeds to our cortijo that his grandfather sold many years ago and claims no one has ever purchased more land from him although he is willing to sell us the land we thought we owned for €3,000
our problem is did the spanish builder we bought the cortijo from lie about the amount of land (most likely) and if so what the hell where we paying the solicitor for, dont they check anything in Spain, surely they could have looked at the Catastro as part of her checks into our purchase.
The way we see things, do we sue the solicitor the builder or just talk to the local land owner who is luckily willing to sell us the remaining 1600 m2.

Beachcomber

Coming to some agreement with the landowner will certainly be a much more expedient solution and will cost you a lot less and be resolved much more quickly than trying to take someone to court which could drag on for years and cost you a fortune.

However, ensure that any agreement you reach with the landowner includes a right of way to the nearest public thoroughfare.

Conduct your negotiations with the landowner through a translator if necessary and check everything out with the notary.

In answer to your question 'What did you pay your solicitor for?' It was for her to turn up at the notary's office and say, 'That's fine, sign here.'

jdr

I think you will find they only do stuff you ask for, so you have no comeback if you didn`t ask him to check the land size.

Beachcomber

Exactly. This is why using a lawyer is a totally useless exercise and why the majority of Spaniards don't bother.

If you have to tell them what to do or what questions to ask you may just as well do the whole thing yourself with the help of a good translator.

Beachcomber

One problem that springs to mind is that if the land which the owner is offering to sell to you is not already segregated and does not have an escritura of its own it may be impossible to do so.