Should I use a solicitor recommended by the agent to buy a property in Spain?
If you are going to purchase a property in Spain you must use a solicitor that is INDEPENDENT to handle the conveyance.
You should never choose the solicitor recommended by the estate agent.
An estate agent and a buyers solicitor have a clear conflict of interest.
They both coexist but have completely different rolls. The agent sells you the property and the solicitor advices you about your purchase and you pay him to keep you safe. He must only respond to his paying client. YOU.
Following the agents recommendation is such a bad idea because you run the risk of choosing a solicitor that could be highly dependent on the referrals of that particular agent for the survival of his business. It is a fact that some solicitors get over 80% of their work from one or two agents.
Solicitors every so often have to recommend that their client does not purchase the property and this could be more difficult for a solicitor who is very dependent on the referrals of a particular agent.
It may feel tempting to buy the package and do it all in one shop but you should not do this. If the property is in perfect order your agent should not have any problems in dealing with the solicitor of your choice. If he is insistent on a particular solicitor you should star to hear alarm bells.
You cannot say that nobody told you. Do not use the solicitor recommended by the agent. Any other option is better than this. Let me give you some ideas:
- Ask other people that have purchased a property in the area. This is the best way of finding a good solicitor.
- Ask around and you will find that some names will start come come up regularly. If you are really lucky you will come across someone that tells you that his solicitor told him not to purchaser a particular property. That is a clear sign of a good and independent solicitor .
- You can make sure a person is a solicitor by visiting www.abogacia.es . This is the governing body of solicitors in Spain (Law Society) and you can fill in the name of the person and it will indicate if he is a solicitor or not.
- Do not base your decision purely on price. A solicitor with shaky finances can not be independent.
