Dear Manuel,
Having not heard whether the vendors were in agreeance regarding the
sale at 12:30 on the 17th of
this month, I contacted Javier who sent me the below emails and texts. I must
admit to being at a loss as to why it has taken so long to be able to arrange
this, and I still do not have a clear confirmation. Of course, I will not be
ordering the transfer of the funds from Australia
I have informed Javier on numerous occasions that I need sufficient
prior notice to make the transfer and I am now not confident that I can pledge
that I will have the funds in time for the 17th. As I write there is
only one bank trading day left before this week is over in Australia and with
the next two days being the weekend, the chances of the transfer clearing to
Spain and me being able to organize a bank cheque by Tuesday to bring on
Wednesday are now as good as zero, even if I was to have a confirmation today,
and there were to be no complications with the transfer.
As I do not know how long the process to complete the sale will take, I
cannot guess if there is a possibility of completing the sale (and associated
payments of taxes, connecting the water etc.) with sufficient time prior to my
leaving for London (as I detailed previously) - without there being issues
hanging over until my return in January. I would be pleased to know if you can
say that these things can be done. If not, I believe we will need to put off
the sale until January.
On another note, I have to say that I have become increasingly
exasperated with Javier’s communications (when they exist) and was wondering if
you could advise me whether I could simply put myself in contact directly with
Antonio ? I have only a verbal agreement with Javier that he is acting as
in intermediary between myself and Antonio on Antonio’s behalf. On this point I
also hope that I can ask your advice; have you dealt with Antonio before and
know him to be a reputable lawyer? I ask this as his written Spanish in his
communication with Javier is strange, and hardly confidence inspiring.
On a final point, I would also like to ask, is it usual that the
purchaser of a property pays the abogado of the vendors? This is what Javier is
asking me to do (2% of the total purchase price). I would have thought that the
vendors would pay Antonio for his services, would that be correct? As I have
not signed anything to such an end, I am wondering if I am obliged to pay it?
I very much look forward to hearing from you soon, and that you may
include your charges, and a copy of the escritura (which is now extremely
urgent) so that I may have good time to check these prior to needing to make
the transfer from Australia
Kind regards
