Has anybody here bought a Spanish property in recent years and NOT used a solicitior?
I have had the same spiel from several estate agents in Spain regarding the need for a solicitor for conveyancing with all of them saying its now completely unnecessary as the rules and regs have been tightened up so much in Spain that THEY the estate agents can do all the required searches etc.
I'm long enough on this planet and have bought enough properties both at home and abroad to take this with a pinch of salt as I've never bought or sold a house without involving a solicitor.

It just depends on how safe you want to be and also the property you are buying. A well established property in an urban area is much less likely to have problems than a country property with doubts over the legality of the various permits that allowed it to be built. A new block of apartments in the centre of town is probably OK. A Cortijo 5 miles out of town in the Campo could be very different. Considering all the costs involved in buying property in Spain, a bit extra for peace of mind given by a good legal opinion is not much to pay. A lot also depends on the quality of the estate agent. When I bought a plot of Campo land to build on 25 years ago I was very impressed by the agent. I contacted a well known local lawyer and when I told her who the agent was, she said that I didn’t need a lawyer. Everything went perfectly and I have never had any legal problems. Just be sure that you are happy with the advice you are given and if you have any concerns, then that is the time to call in a lawyer.

If you need help sorting out all the bureaucracy involved then a good Gestor can do all that at a much lower cost.

Ok, thank you for that. I fully expected the opposite response tbh.

I'd say always get independant advice and use a gestor or solicitor to buy.
The estate agent is always only after his commission. He works for himself and the seller.
Buying yep no need for anyone else than the agent as long as you trust them.

​​​​​​If buying and not being there to sign. I'd never give the agent POA where I would to a solicitor

I agree with the above comments and add that it depends on your knowledge of Spanish law, system, and language.

It also depends on where you are buying—some areas are much tighter about applying all relevant laws, while others are not.

I have recently visited Extremadura where a friend has just sold her small 2nd home and no mention was ever made of the Energy certificate by anybody! (OK this document might be a complete waste of time but this is an example)

I would recommend you do use an independent qualified legal professional.

Hi
I would always have a legal person check over the paperwork, there is so much money in commissions available that agents on the whole cannot be trusted BUT some of them are great, but you will never know so be safe. I also find if you take legal advice from solicitors they too tend to try and create issues that cost the buyer money. The people who bought my villa where led down the garden path by their solicitors, the solicitors were obsessed by a water issue, which ultimately cost 1000 euros to sort out, it probably cost the buyer that in fees ! And I was shocked that the solicitors did not advise for a full structural survey, which is the route I would have taken (there are many companies who do this now)

in short as with other posters it depends on the property type and location. An independent house needs a legal person to ensure legality and a SURVEY don’t let them say “you don’t need one in Spain” they all have snouts in the trough!

regards

Al

I would echo all of the above advice from a fair bit of recent experience, dont just rely on the agent unless you know them and trust them 1000% ..... I have a gestor that I trust to work independantly alongside the agent to double check everything. (Mine have been fairly simple long established apartment transactions with no land complexities).

Just a word of warning from our experience of using a Gestor for a house sale, we used one, and he preformed well, apart from the fact that there was a problem with a missing letter about the previous owners of the house we were selling, we arranged for the letter to be sent to him as we still had contact with them, they sent it, he went to the bank and sorted it, was €8,000 they he disappeared with the money, even the people in his office had no idea where he had gone.

It is NOT a legal requirement to have one.- but best to have one or at least a conveyancing gestor with access to a lawyer if required