Paying for Spanish property in Sterling
May 15th 2015, 2:20 am
#1
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Paying for Spanish property in Sterling
Just wondered if anyone had any experience of buying a property in Spain and paying at least part of the agreed price in Sterling from UK bank to UK bank. Is it possible and how is that agreed with the Notary? Thanks.
May 15th 2015, 4:41 am
#2
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Location: Sheffield, UK and La Safor, España
Posts: 207
Re: Paying for Spanish property in Sterling
We did just that when we bought our house in 2012. We were buying from a couple who had returned to the UK and they asked if we would pay most of the agreed price in sterling. It was all handled by our Spanish lawyer. Some of the price had to be paid in euros to the vendor's Spanish bank account so that the taxes (or whatever) could be paid. It was all laid out in the sales document that the notary validated (or whatever it is they do). The exchange rate was also noted in the sales document since the sale price had been agreed in euros. On the agreed date, we had our UK bank transfer the sterling portion to the vendor's UK bank and then had our Spanish bank transfer the euros to the vendor's Spanish bank.
May 15th 2015, 7:18 am
#3
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 843
Re: Paying for Spanish property in Sterling
We did just that when we bought our house in 2012. We were buying from a couple who had returned to the UK and they asked if we would pay most of the agreed price in sterling. It was all handled by our Spanish lawyer. Some of the price had to be paid in euros to the vendor's Spanish bank account so that the taxes (or whatever) could be paid. It was all laid out in the sales document that the notary validated (or whatever it is they do). The exchange rate was also noted in the sales document since the sale price had been agreed in euros. On the agreed date, we had our UK bank transfer the sterling portion to the vendor's UK bank and then had our Spanish bank transfer the euros to the vendor's Spanish bank.
May 15th 2015, 8:06 am
#4
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,675
Re: Paying for Spanish property in Sterling
We did just that when we bought our house in 2012. We were buying from a couple who had returned to the UK and they asked if we would pay most of the agreed price in sterling. It was all handled by our Spanish lawyer. Some of the price had to be paid in euros to the vendor's Spanish bank account so that the taxes (or whatever) could be paid. It was all laid out in the sales document that the notary validated (or whatever it is they do). The exchange rate was also noted in the sales document since the sale price had been agreed in euros. On the agreed date, we had our UK bank transfer the sterling portion to the vendor's UK bank and then had our Spanish bank transfer the euros to the vendor's Spanish bank.
May 15th 2015, 12:10 pm
#5
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 990
Re: Paying for Spanish property in Sterling
What is the advantage/ disadvantage to the seller to pay for the house in sterling, and how does it work at the notary, when they hand you the bank draft?
May 15th 2015, 2:58 pm
#6
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Posts: 2,675
Re: Paying for Spanish property in Sterling
The main benefit is to the seller if they in the UK as they won't have to pay any exchange fee and risk the exchange rate when repatriating their cash - may be a negotiating opportunity if you crunch some numbers and see what the difference is. On an expensive deal it could be thousands. Technically it could be seen as money laundering under the new rules but as long as you obey the rules and are properly notarised you should be OK.
