Legal advice

In these days of DIY culture, many people in the UK successfully conduct their own conveyancing with no problems.  When these same people buy over here, they are often loathe to employ a lawyer.  This can often be a recipe for disaster, because although some transfers can be smooth, it takes a lawyer to deal with anything unusual in a contract.  Often, it takes a lawyer just to spot the unusual thing and question it, when an unqualified agent would blithely skim through the pages and assume everything is correct.

The purchase contract

The purchase contract for a resale property in Tenerife will contain details of the vendor and purchaser, the purchase price and method of payment. It will also confirm that the Escritura de Compraventa (Title Deed) is in the name of the vendor and that this will be passed to the purchaser on completion of the sale. It will also guarantee that the property itself will be transferred free from all encumbrances and rights of third parties and will state who is liable for taxes and costs involved in the transfer. There will also be stipulations regarding penalties for non-fulfilment of the contract.

Legal procedures on buying

All property sales and purchases in Spain must be registered the land registry and the Title Deed (Escritura de Compraventa) must be prepared by a public official called a Notary. This deed is then signed by both the seller and the buyer in the Notary’s presence.

Under declaring property values

One of the most widely accepted tax dodges has had its day.  If you’re considering buying a property on Tenerife now, or in the future, this chapter may save you thousands of Euros and a great deal of stress.  Up until just a short while ago, the practice of under-declaring the value of a property when it was sold was so common that notaries, lawyers, agents and even the taxman didn’t even raise an eyebrow.  The situation has changed, and the problem is that many estate agents and lawyers are now in a state of denial, not admitting to themselves, let alone their clients, that the golden years of black money property deals are now a thing of the past.  And who will pay the price of their failure to adjust to the new fiscal climate?  You will.  And you will pay through the nose.

Making a will

Statistics show that people do not like making Wills. It is understandable that people do not like to consider death, but it is irrational not to consider what should happen to your assets should you die, and make sure that your accumulated wealth is distributed in accordance with your wishes.

Making sure you are protected

Perhaps it is the warm sun that fries the brains of us northern Europeans, but it seems that many of us seem to throw caution and common sense to the wind when we come to property buying in Tenerife.  We happily slap down thousands of Euros in deposits for properties, without a care for the security of our hard won cash.  We blithely accept a salesman’s patter… after all, he’s a nice chap and we met him by the pool… he’s bound to be telling the truth.  Back home, on familiar ground, we are different people.  But as the temperature rises, so does our gullibility.  Many people have learnt the hard way, that suntan lotion does not provide adequate cover for all eventualities.

Reduce your mortgage costs

One thing we all want to do is to reduce our mortgage costs, but it used to be difficult to swap lenders in Tenerife because of the costs involved.  Changes in law have made it much cheaper to remortgage a property.  However, even though it has become easier to reduce costs with a different lender, finding the right deal to suit you can be difficult.  Not only is there a language barrier that prevents many foreign mortgage holders from accessing some of the best offers on the market, but the market itself is rapidly changing. 

Tenerife Property Owners at risk

New legislation which came into force in January affects British foreign property owners in Tenerife.  The new Rome II regulations affect cross border legal disputes and leaves foreign property owners open to public liability challenges from the UK.  Over 90% of British overseas property owners are now under insured, and the figure is likely to be similar in Tenerife.

Tenerife Agent goes bust: clients unprotected

Another estate agency that did not offer Professional Indemnity Insurance cover has closed. Lifer Inmobiliaria has suddenly closed its ten offices in the Canaries, trapping hundreds of clients who had already begun the process of buying a property and who had paid a deposit to the firm within the last year or so. Several of these clients have denounced Lifer for alleged fraud.