Client: You are a lawyer here in Spain. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?
Josep Palmer, Attorney: Sure, I would love to.
Client: I don’t have one specific legal issue, but lots of different concerns. How do I know when I should get some real legal advice?
Josep Palmer, Attorney: Well, my job as a lawyer is to give advice. As my client, you bring a backpack full of doubts and uncertainties that I safeguard and try to make disappear, or at least decrease the intensity of the burden.
Client: Well, that sounds great. Could you be more specific about what I should do?
Josep Palmer, Attorney: Sure.
First, schedule an appointment. When you do this, you will need to present your problems. Identifying, organizing, and sharing what is in your mind helps many people.
Secondly, a lawyer will identify specifically where we can be entrusted to assist you. Sometimes we are damage control after decisions and actions have happened, but we also act as prevention and a way to make better decisions.
And thirdly, by having a legal team at your side, we safeguard your rights and interests.
Client: Wow, just hearing this makes me relax. But, I would like to hear some specific examples, please.
Josep Palmer, Attorney: No problem.
No matter where we are from, we encounter contracts all the time. A contract is a service agreement that can be as simple as a signature on a piece of scrap paper or as complicated as a binder full of paper.
Common examples of contracts are the agreements that we make with phone companies, banks, utility companies, rental agreements, when you are hired by a company, and buying or selling anything…from the most simple day-to-day items to high-cost and more complex sales such as cars and real estate.
Because of the high frequency that we encounter these contractual agreements, we sometimes don’t even register that they are legal agreements and require analysis, and come with legal benefits and consequences.
From a legal perspective, I recommend that you follow these steps:
- Collect Information
- Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
- Legal Requirements of all parties
- Review and Repeat
Even when it seems like a small agreement, by analyzing the situation, you can prevent conflicts, stress, and headaches. Lawyers are a key strategic resource throughout the process.
Often, a lawyer is contacted when things go wrong. However, here is an example of how they may be accessed to keep things on the right path.
Many international people seek out Spain as a place to purchase property. I don’t have to tell you what a wonderful place this country is; we already know it. However, like all places, there are some unique challenges to understand. Here are my recommendations using the steps I outlined before.
- Collect Information
You can never have enough information. A challenge with collecting information is that it may be overwhelming and discouraging. However, it is also critical, and a lawyer can help you prioritize.
There are a few crucial areas to collect information during the process of purchasing real estate in Spain.
Specifically, look into the urban plan of the community that you want to purchase into. Is there any history of conflicts? What is their future plan for expansion? How and where does the apartment or parcel that you are interested in play into this plan?
2. Identify Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
Understanding the community development plans, how land is classified, and how international European Law may come into play within the area you are interested in living are all active elements.
Additionally, spend time understanding environmental changes and threats. The weather is amazing in Spain, and one of the best advantages to living here; however, we must also spend extra time learning how increased rainfall, more extreme temperatures, flooding, and changes in the coastline impact our safety and investments.
From here, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are vary depending on your personal situation and the location.
3. Legal requirements of all parties
Research into the history of a property, any pre-existing debt, and how to ensure the future of investments is the job of a lawyer. And, these are all tasks that should be undertaken with conflict prevention in mind. The objective is to create lasting, clear communication between banks, notaries, and all involved parties.
4. Review and repeat
Laws change, new politicians are elected, and new urban plans are created, which means that this is a process that can’t just be done once. Whether it is to identify opportunities to reduce tax or adjustments to international law, visiting a lawyer to review opportunities and decrease risk is critical for all investors, but may be especially beneficial for foreigners.
Don’t forget that preventing a legal case is often a wiser course of action than achieving a judicial victory!
Ipso Facto Law 
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