I lived in Spain for almost 4 years and was retired living on a small amount of savings.  I purchased a property outright which I lived in and had no mortgage.  I applied for permanent residence which came through after around 18 months. 

Upon selling I paid my solicitor the notory and their fees etc. and they asked me to pay severl thousand euro extra which I was led to beleive was for the Spanish tax office in case I hadn’t paid any utility bills or unpaid tax.

I haven’t heard anything back despite chasing and its been almost 2 years!  Has anyone else had experience of having to leave such a huge amount of money upon exchange and sale of a property when returning to the UK?

I have a feeling I have been scammed but any comments or advice would be helpful.

Thank you.

Becks07 - 11 December 2010 03:44 AM

Upon selling I paid my solicitor the notory and their fees etc. and they asked me to pay severl thousand euro extra which I was led to beleive was for the Spanish tax office in case I hadn’t paid any utility bills or unpaid tax.

I haven’t heard anything back despite chasing and its been almost 2 years!  Has anyone else had experience of having to leave such a huge amount of money upon exchange and sale of a property when returning to the UK?

sounds like you paid the 3% retencion tax. Payable by non-(fiscal) residents.

If you had paid all your taxes while you owned the property you should get the money back, but your lawyer needs to chase this, a new one to see about reclaiming it.