Re: Very nervous beginner
 

Yes and even Spanish banks lend, but usually a 30/40% deposit is required for non residents these days. Buyer be aware, Banco Sabadell sometimes give 100% mortgages on their properties (Solvia). Problem is that Solvia sell properties they couldn't get rid off and they are usually overpriced. The foreign buyer is an easy target.

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

Please can you share names if any banks you know of. .... Perhaps Abbey National owned by Santander and TSB owned by Sabadell, as obviously their parent banks would have the knowledge and processes to file the liens on properties in Spain, and have the knowledge and processes on how to foreclose and repossess property if the borrower defaults.

A purely domestic British bank, one that doesn't have branches in Spain, say RBS/Natwest, wouldn't have the knowledge or processes to handle those things.

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

Yes they are the banks thinking of......fewer choices nowadays.

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

Do British banks actually talk to their Spanish counterparts? OK it was a few years ago, but I went into a branch of Halifax in Barcelona, and tried to withdraw some cash from my savings account, ( I had the bank book but no card, and it was a uk account) they just did not want to know, claiming that they were a seperate entity to Halifax Uk, this with the help of a native catalan speaker!

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

That is perfectly normal for most banks - their systems are not connected between countries, (for legal reasons, such as data protection and privacy, linking them may not even be possible), and yes, they are usually separate legal entities, even for the likes of HSBC that proclaims itself as "the world's local bank".

Those international branches typically exist only to support corporations and specific international activities, such as import-export business or supply chain finance, or in the case of foreign banks in London, for accessing investments and finance, not to provide retail banking to Joe Schmoe.

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

Thanks soooo much for all the replies, the information has been very helpful. I have spent the last couple of summers in Almeria in July and August and really like some of the working Spanish towns 15mins drive from the coast (nowhere too high). I think I might speak to some of the solicitors that attend the “A place in the sun” expo in Manchester and see what they say.

Anymore gems of wisdom keep them coming, I’m a sponge!

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

My sister bought a house in Spain,got a mortgage from a local bank in her Spanish village, got her NEI (sort of NI number) from local consulate in Edinburgh, got local expats and the town hall and local mayor to help her with works permissions etc for renovations.
You need to make sure the house is legal and that the person selling is the actual owner.
It is very very hot in Almeria in summer

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

Apart from anything else who know what the ramifications of Brexit will be for international banking ?

It's far from inconceivable for instance that, excluded from the EU frameworks and systems for preventing money laundering and pursuing debts etc. the high street banks may just decide to pull up the drawbridge and force the closure of all accounts held by non residents.

Barclays already did that to some customers before the referendum !

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

Anything is possible, but that's not likely. Banks evaluate risk and profitability, and sometimes decide that the risk is too great for the reward, which is why they may close low value lightly used accounts, but still serve otherwise similar customers/ accounts but with larger balances, such as savings accounts, investments or pensions, and loan or mortgage balances.

If you have a simply current account and run a few hundred euros through it each month you aren't generating enough profit for the bank to be bothered with you, so closing your account is an easy decision, from their perspective.

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

I live on-and-off in Mojacar Playa so my views are biased. Now is a good time to buy there. Prices have started to creep up a little on what the "bottom" figure was. Don't worry, the creeping is likely to stay creeping for some time to come and not jump to the astronomical percentages like in 2005 where property prices increased nearly by the hour.

Again, most of what I was going to say has been covered by previous posters. Only, I want to reiterate the importance of employing a gestor to act solely for you (and not for the estate agent or vendor or anybody else).

"Don't believes" in the Mojacar area:- (i) The railway line between Alicante and Málaga will be seeing trains shortly. (ii) Corvera Airport outside Murcia will open soon (iii) The Theme Park near Murcia will open within a year or two. If you look at Winter in the Sun Property programmes, well known estate agents have lied through their whitened teeth on those three points.

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

Leper thanks soooo much for your reply, I had not paid any attention into the train/airport/theme park news luckily I just love the local area. I have to admit all the brexit talk is making me feel like a tortoise wanting to hide in its shell, but if I don’t go after my little dream of having somewhere to relax to in my holidays I will live with a lifetime of regrets. Any advice of independent lawyers/gestor etc would be really welcomed. If a property that you are looking at has been on the market for over a year what% would you consider trying to reduce the asking price buy?

Re: Very nervous beginner
 

The house that we bought had been on the market for a while and we tried to get them to reduce but no joy. If it is Spanish people selling they rarely accept offers because they decide on a price and tend to stick to it even if it means waiting a long time for a buyer. Other nationalities are inclined to have a more flexible attitude to selling a house.

Rosemary