Fincas and Country property - Málaga Property

News - October 2008

We speak your language…we also speak theirs!

Learning the lingo is an essential way to improve your experiences in Spain – we have all been in situations where communication breaks down and this can lead to some serious situations. It doesn’t really matter if you miss the odd word when speaking to your neighbour about the weather but it is vital that you understand issues when talking to your doctor or lawyer!

Thankfully, a grasp of Spanish will help to improve your enjoyment of this beautiful country and many lawyers will be able to communicate in English. There are, however, a number of examples of clients that we have met who maybe didn’t quite understand the implications of what their lawyer was telling them.

We, at Torcal Estates recognise the importance of being able to communicate in Spanish as well as our English native tongue. We also understand to a high degree the processes involved with property buying, selling and simple ownership here in Spain.

We have helped many, many clients over the last couple of years deal with out-of-date paperwork, issues that affect the value of their property and also situations that have actually led to sales falling through.

We don’t profess to be lawyers and many of these situations need to be resolved by lawyers however knowing a competent and professional lawyer who can understand what needs to be done is quite rare. Thankfully, we have two excellent companies that we can recommend who understand exactly what needs to be done to resolve these problems.

What has also been evident over recent years is the need to be able to communicate with other nationalities. When dealing with a Dutch buyer (or seller) it is ideal if we can communicate with them in their own language – it makes them feel more comfortable and enables them to express themselves how they want to.

The world is a smaller place than it was 20 years ago and we can meet people from Norway, Denmark, Holland, France and Germany during the course of a shopping trip!

Southern Spain has attracted a variety of nationalities over the years and this has led to a wide range of people buying and selling property in a foreign tongue and having to deal with authorities, lawyers, Gestors etc in a mixture of English and Spanish – for a Dane that might be more challenging than we think!

At Torcal Estates we are fortunate to be able to communicate with people in English, Spanish, Dutch, German and French, as well as an understanding of various other dialects.

This ability to communicate with continental buyers has helped over the last 12 months where the reduction of British buyers (primarily due to the lowering of the pound against the euro) has helped to maintain a steady flow of buyers from within the Eurozone.