NOT ALL SOLICITORS ARE BORN EQUAL
If you are purchasing property in Spain, it is not a good idea to choose the solicitor simply because he/she has been recommended by the estate agent or builder. We have offices in Marbella, Almeria city and Mojacar. We deal with conveyancing on the costa del Sol (Marbella, Estepona, Manilva, Fuengirola, Mijas, Benalmadena, Benahavis, Malaga, Nerja Velez Málaga )and on the Almería coast (Mojacar, Almerimar, San Jose, Cabo de Gata , Vera and Turre) . We are 100% independent
QUESTION. I am about to purchase a property and the estate agent is very insistent that I use a particular solicitor. Is this O.K. ?
Is the estate agent or builder insisting you use a particular solicitor that they recommend ?
Is this making you nervous because you consider he/she may have a conflict of interest?
You are right to be concerned because like in your home country this is not a good system for choosing a solicitor to look after your interests.
Just because the estate recommends a particular solicitor it does not mean necessarily mean that he is not any good. It is just that the recommendation needs to be taken with caution and instead do the following:
A. Good ways to choose a solicitor
- Ask other people that have purchased a property in the area.
- Ask the British Consulate in Malaga to let you have their list of English speaking solicitors.
- If you have already opened a bank account in Spain, ask your bank manager for a recommendation.
- Choose a solicitor who has been in practice for a decent amount of time.
- Make sure you are indeed dealing with a solicitor and not a translator who is offering legal advice for which he or she will not be qualified. You need to see the word abogado under their name , and their law society number needs to be available. The National association of regional Law Societies “Consejo General de la Abogacia” allows you to make sure a person is a qualified lawyer in Spain online . Simply click to go direct to the app and fill in the name (first box ) and surname (second box ) and it will tell you if he/she is a lawyer in Spain or not (and his law society number ).
- If you have the possibility, meet the solicitor before you hire him. Make sure he/she is a person you can talk to and that his/her English is good enough to enable to avoid any communication problems. (remember you will be dealing with important and sometimes complex matters both during the purchase and going forward so it is essential that communication is fluid)
- Make sure the solicitor is also the correct person to deal with other matters going forward. Make sure for example he is accustomed to dealing at least with wills, probate and fiscal representation which will be useful going forward.
- Make sure that he will also deal with the smaller items like your NIE numbers, powers of attorney , change of name of the services and direct debits etc.
- Make sure the solicitor will be right person not just for dealing with your conveyance, but also your future needs regarding wills, fiscal representation , inheritance etc.
- Read our guideline of what to expect from your solicitor so that you have a better idea about the questions to ask when you meet the candidate.
Bad way to choose a solicitor:
- To depend exclusively on the recommendation of the estate agent or builder. This is not a good idea because good solicitors often have to say no to a purchase and this could be more difficult for a solicitor who is very dependent on the referrals of a particular agent. An estate agent and a buyers solicitor have a clear conflict of interest. This is particularly important in times of crisis as more than ever agents need to make the sale and some solicitors need the referrals. Some solicitors even pay for these referrals.
- To not dedicate time and effort to this important decision. Not all solicitors offer the same service.
We have offices in Marbella, Mojacar and Almeria, we are 100% independent, bilingual and have been in practice for over 25 years.
