Spanish Bank Account

[STAH]

Greetings fellow ABers

My mother-in-law is hoping to buy a property in Spain and intends to spend the winter months there and rent it out in the sumer months. I would think that a bank account would be a must for the payment of Spanish bills and transfer of monies from her UK bank account etc.

Do you have any suggestions as to which bank would be the best to use? Unfortunately, we do not know of the exact location of the property, but it is likely to be in the Costa-Del-Sol.

Many thanks in anticipation.

[Ethel]

Good advice here:

http://www.euroresidentes.com/Property/spanish _banks/open-bank-account-spain.htm

[EverClean]

If you want one that's easy to set up in the UK then Halifax have a Spanish Bank account under their Banco Halifax Hispania brand that you can access in a branch. However their branch coverage in Spain is quite poor.

[david11]

the financial markets are forecasting as much as 30% drop in house prices in Spain,ie: a crash. Wait and watch for about 6 months,and you never know your mother-in-law could snap up a bargain.

[STAH]

Many thanks to you all for your advice, ideas etc.

David, I shall certainly bear your point in mind.

Kind regards,

Scott

[WendyS]

Several of the newspapers are now reporting on the crash of the property market in Spain. I think your mother in law would be seriously advised to hang fire for a while rather than rushing in while the market is in its current disarray. If she waits awhile there may be some excellent bargains on the market as those who have bought at recent high prices go into negative equity and find they are either supporting mortgages for property worth less than they paid for it, or they have to reduce rental prices to uneconomic levels. On the question of which bank to use, possibly her own bank can recommend one, or a UK solicitor who is familiar in dealing with Spanish property transactions. Maybe Googling "Spanish bank for UK residents owning Spanish property" or something similar might produce some leads.

[STAH]

Wendy,

Thanks so much for your reply. We are aware of the current property climate out there, and when we travel to Spain this coming Saturday to view properties we will certainly bear this factor in mind.

The Money section of yesterday's Sunday Times had a comprehensive article of which we are all going to sit down and read together as a family on this very subject.

Many thanks once again,

Scott