Tag: Spanish lawyer in Manchester
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Can I complete the purchase of a property in Spain without a NIE?
In a clear homage to my youngest daughter’s favourite cartoon: yes you can! I am talking about NIEs and not laying bricks but contrariliy to what happens in the Bob the Builder’s cartoons, the lack of NIE will not necessarily lead to a happy ending. A NIE number (tax number for non-residents who either…
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What is a “cedula hipotecaria”?
You may have heard about the “cedulas hipotecarias” or covered bonds. A “Covered Bond” is a financial product guaranteed by the whole mortgage portfolio of the bank itself with an interest linked to it. This is a safe product in a normal economic climate and it could be quite profitable (in fact, during the property…
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Fire in the Costa del Sol- How do I claim for losses and damages?
You may have heard about the terrible fire that affected the Costa del Sol last week. The fire started on August 30th at 7 pm somewhere between Coin and Mijas (Barranco Blanco area) and it spread towards other towns such as Marbella, Ojen, Monda. The fire stretched out with a length of over 30 km among five municipalities: Alhaurín el…
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Changes to the Spanish Tenancy Law- Hit or miss?
The current Spanish Government is betting for a surge in rentals as a way to compensate the stock of properties for sale that cannot be currently absorbed by the market. For this reason it has implemented a project of law that, in the Government’s opinion, will revive the rentals…
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What can be bought these days for less than 150,000 Euro?
This is a question that I have asked myself in several occasions. I am obviously talking about Spain, the main subject of this blog. Some experts state that the market is full of bargains. Lets see if it is true. 150,000 Euro is a relevant amount of money. This amount can buy you…
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Lets talk about gifts
In this space I have talked about wills and inheritances very often but never, as far as I can recall, about gifts. Is it generally a good idea to gift assets in Spain? The answer is also generally no. Why? For one simple reason: taxes. A gift will always be subject to gift tax…
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Watch Out: Problems with the NIE
Some of the readers of this blog already know that there was a change in the law in 2011 and it was no longer possible to obtain a NIE number in Spain through power of attorney. This polemic decision was accepted by most of the local police stations in Spain except for a few…
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Daddy, where is my money?
This week a Spanish national from Castilla but living in England for many years came to see me for advice on wills. In fact I was the second solicitor to be consulted. The other one recommended him, without taking into account his national law, to grant an English will and leave everything to the…
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New proposals for a new era
Some months ago, the Socialist Prime Minister, Mr Rodriguez-Zapatero (or Zapatero as he is commonly known in Spain) decided to call elections for the 20th November. Since then, both main candidates, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba for the Socialist Party and Mariano Rajoy for the Popular Party struggled to convince the…
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When will there be any good news?
Well, it appears that Santander has changed its mind and will not be selling its portfolio of properties for a discounted price as it was unable to find suitable buyers. It appears that some of the offers were made by foreign investors who were pushing for discounts of up to 60% on the properties.…