Tag: Spanish lawyer in Manchester

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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.…

  • The Neverending story

    That’s it! I had enough of it this week. My colleague and I have been dealing with something that should be so simple but in the end can become a real nightmare. I am talking about changing the name in the utilities. The change of name should be something simple, something like “hello I am…

  • The Spanish Consulate in Manchester has closed- Now what?

    A little bit of bad news this week. The Spanish Consulate in Manchester has been closed down. Apparently, it has been considered redundant as there are Consulates in London and Edinburgh. This means that if you live in one of the following regions (Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyshire, North Yokshire, Northumberland, Tyne…

  • The future of the Spanish property market

    A year ago I was asked to write an article for The Manchester Law Society Messenger on the situation of the Spanish property market. In that article, I explained that the situation was pretty grim with property prices due to fall and more building companies and developers to bite the dust.  On 17th November, RR de…

  • Spanish property market feels the pain

      As a Spanish property lawyer based in Manchester, the first thing I am asked when I am introduced to people is: How is the Spanish property market doing? The words “Spanish” and “property lawyer” appear to have a sudden effect on the other person and they start to interrogate me on the subject. This…