The Spanish property market has received considerable criticism in the British media and more often than not this criticism has been justified. Examples are the Urban Development Activity Act 1994 of Valencia, nicknamed by the media as the Spanish "land grab act". This act reached the statute books with the very best of intentions but it wasn't long before corrupt officials and private companies were working together to acquire land of householders for only a fraction of what had been paid. Today, after a long struggle of which we were part, this iniquitous piece of legislation has been repealed. Attempts to replace it by a similar piece of legislation were crushed by the E.U. who has made it clear that this act by whatever name will not be allowed.
All those affected by the LRAU, by which it was also known, were genuine victims and only after a long time does it appear that they will receive justice. However, there are many cases also reported by the British media where the victim could never had gotten himself into the situation he had without co-operating fully.
It is still common in Spain for the purchase price of a property to be under-declared as a means of saving money on the tax which is being evaded. There can be few Britons unaware of how serious tax evasion is considered by governments, if only because of the incredible amount of people jailed in the UK for tax evasion. If you buy a house in Spain for €200,000 but declare the price as €150,000, you will save around €4850.00 on the tax element which will not be paid. If the house you have purchased then falls over there is little point in demanding €200,000 from the builder because you have stated to the government that the price you paid was €150,000. It may well be that the builder will refuse to repay anything, knowing that you will have to admit to tax evasion.
There are numerous ways in which money can be saved, the majority being illegal but when things go wrong you have only yourself to blame if you have embarked on this route. However, there are many occasions when a person purchasing property is a genuine victim in that he has merely gone along with the advice given by those he has paid and trusted to represent him.
At times such as this it is difficult to know what to do for the best but something must be done and done quickly. To these ends, if you have found yourself with a property problem for which you were not responsible or did not contribute to then we'd like help. It doesn't matter why we want to help other than to say no one benefits from sharp practice or deception which if left unchecked will do nothing but grow more common.
Other problems in which those new to Spain become involved in concern unqualified financial advisors. Retirees especially have proved to be most vulnerable to these people.. Seeking to obtain the best returns possible on their money, many become victims of outright fraud. Sadly, it is usually their own countrymen who are responsible. This is not a warning about investment in Spain or making your money work to the best possible effect but a warning not to deal with people or companies about whom you know nothing and who offer better than average returns on your money.
When you hear the word "offshore" walk away. When you hear about any scheme for making money walk away. If you cannot afford to lose your money and have it make no difference to your life, you have little option other than to invest safely.
Finally on this subject, many of the bogus organisations which have defrauded ex-pats have names far more grandiose than the genuine financial companies. If you want to invest, take second and third advice from qualified sources and if the deal seems too good to be true then it probably is.
If you think we may be able to help, simply contact us by telephone or email. Our contact information can be found at the foot of this and every page on this web site.
