For those who don’t already know, there are properties in Spain without the
proper planning permission.
They have been in the news for the past few years and as these illegal builds
will be bulldozed with as little as 48 hours notice; traumatic as you can
imagine.
How can this happen in a civilized society?
First and foremost people take risks. There are two specific areas during the
purchase that identify a weakness. A poor solicitor, who deliberately turns a
blind eye to suspect planning applications; and advice from a solicitor to a
prospective buyer, who then themselves choose to carry on with the build
regardless of potential problems.
The fraudulent Spanish lawyer cum solicitor, who surprisingly uses the language
barrier as one reason for any errors, and the other reasons base themselves
around communication errors with planning authorities.
In my attempt to defend Spain and their procedures, allow me to draw a
comparison. If we compare with the UK as a parallel, then we can find there are
fraudulent solicitors trading in the UK and several go to court for their
actions.
Journalists enjoy a meaty story, something that will not only be a good story in
the newspapers and television, but eventually bringing the said criminals to
justice. That is all well and good for journalists… but why don’t they study the
fraudulent actions of solicitors more often? The simple reason is the legal
profession has plenty of clout to deter any nosey journalist. So any invasion
comes with a threat of legal action and subsequent lawsuit should they get any
small aspect of their reporting wrong. So… unless the legal profession
themselves have cast a certain individual aside; the ranks close… and delving
into a solicitors affairs is rarely successful.
Yet the same closed ranks do not occur in Spain, as law-suits between countries
are more difficult to pursue.
Allow me to clear up one aspect of the illegal builds in Spain. New builds can
be illegal unless they have the proper documentation; properties built before
the year 2000 are less likely affected.
Using that theory therefore, ‘resale’ properties are a better alternative to
buy.
Those bulldozed illegal properties are generally in the ‘campo’ areas. These are
the areas on the outskirts of small villages and towns.
The temptation to buy such properties, are clearly obvious as they are
substantial in description with a good deal of land and physically built
property upon the plot. What money may buy a three-bedroom apartment on the
coast, would buy a 3 bedroom villa 5 miles inland, with a swimming pool and
landscaped garden. Such temptation is on every individual intending to buy
overseas property.
So here are the two main areas that property buyers need to be aware of.
Firstly, the so-called dodgy solicitor… These are obviously unscrupulous and
similar to the dodgy people in the UK. They seem to settle in one area for a few
years; do their dirty work and as their working environment begins to get tough,
they move up and down the coast.
An option to overcome this possibility is to get another solicitor to follow
their tracks. Tell your original solicitor that this is going to happen; and see
whether he shakes in his boots. The cost maybe and extra £100, but the extra
security and confidence you’ll get through ‘double-checking’ will makes the
buying process so much more comfortable.
The second possibility is the more frequent…
The system of authority for building is different here in Spain. In the UK for
example, planning permission is sought from the local council; once approved
everything is fine. Here in Spain they have a two-tier system. More often than
not the local council will approve development; if only for no other reason than
injecting funds back from central government, as population quota improves the
Spanish councils grants.
The other tier within the system is the ‘Regional Province’ authorities, they
have the last authority on planning. To ease the friction between the two, the
Regional Authorities have designated areas that have urban development rights;
allowing development. Without this right of development, more scrutiny and
approval is needed.
Under this scrutiny comes ‘delays’ and doubt. Here the solicitor will advise a
client that a previous application was approved by the local council, and then
subsequently approved by the ‘Regional Authority’. The decision to build as a
consequence is put back onto the prospective buyer of the land; as the approval
may take up and over a year.
Big Risk!... But the prospective buyer is so eager that they approve the
purchase of land. With this approval comes the risk of everything going belly up
and the house demolished.
As with some houses, that have the risk of being bulldozed, the owner at the
time try’s to sell the property. More often than not as explained earlier the
property is substantial, beautiful and close to all amenities; so the likelihood
of potential buyers is huge.
Again, in theory the property should never sell, as the solicitor does the
necessary checks. But invariably the estate agent initiating the sale; knows of
an unscrupulous solicitor who will scurry through the proceedings.
Downright scandal… but wherever there are people, there will be one dodgy
character willing to earn a quick buck off someone. This scenario applies to any
community it the world.
At this moment in time 95% of property are fine; a further 3% have no plans
finalized but will get approval eventually; and the remaining 2% need further
clarification before you consider purchasing.
My conclusion on Spanish Property… Not too much different to the ‘builder’s
bodge jobs’ cunningly hidden before the property is sold in the UK. Unscrupulous
activity happens everywhere, wherever there are people, there will be two or
three in every hundred that should raise suspicions. When buying check
thoroughly and perhaps get a second solicitor checking over the final drafts.
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to check the accuracy of information contained on this website,
Sale-Property-Spain, we cannot accept responsibility for any errors or
omissions, nor for the authenticity of any claims or statements made by
third parties.
We therefore strongly recommend that readers make their own thorough
checks before entering into any kind of transaction. The views and
opinions of editorial contributors do not necessarily reflect those of
Sale-Property-Spain.
