Then off it goes through the international banking system and it invariably gets stuck in Madrid or any Banking Capital for a few days collecting more interest for the receiving Bank before reaching its chosen destination.

In this case the private banking account of Madame Elisha!

She called again a few days later to confirm receipt and that all had gone well at the Notary’s office and the Spanish Property was now theirs! Relief all round for Brian and Jenny. The couple told her of their plans to go out in a few months to take control of their Dream Overseas Home. What they did not realize was that it was all about to go horribly wrong

Brian and Jenny had been led to buy a Spanish property on Costa Blanca in Southern Spain from the corrupt agent, Madam Elisha who had sold it to them and had taken a 20K deposit in cash. They had also signed a document in Spanish which had not been translated and purported to be an instruction to a Spanish lawyer, she had recommended, to act on their behalf to secure the Spanish Property.

They had now returned to the UK in great delight to tell all their friends the great news and even recommend the charming and helpful Agent they had met whilst in Torrevieja. After two weeks they heard from Elisha. Everything was proceeding well and she would get back in contact soon, and could they confirm the balance of the monies, some 202K Euros was available to send? They confirmed.

Poor Brian. If only he had been working with an accredited agent of the mypropertypal Overseas Property Agents Association.

One week later she called again to ask for the balance to be sent to complete the purchase. She also told Brian to transfer an extra 25,000 Euros to cover for Notary fees, taxes and expenses. This seemed reasonable and Brian’s only concern was whether he had to book a flight to attend the completion appointment. Elisha told them that this would not be necessary as Brian had not only signed an instruction to his solicitor to act but the same document allowed for a Power of Attorney! This was a pleasant surprise or so it seemed at the time. How convenient. Brian and Jenny thought this was good news!

Or was it? Buyers of Property Overseas should never sign documents without a proper translation being available and only in exceptional cases give a Power of Attorney. The latter means what it says, a transfer of your power to a third party. In this instance they thought to a reliable and recommended solicitor in Spain.

Clever Alisha

Brian and Jenny transferred the amount from their ISA account to their current account and then asked their High Street Bank to transfer the amount to the bank account they were given by Madam Elisha.

Poor Brian

Buyers of Overseas Property should always seek help to transfer large amounts of money to an overseas account. Moneycorp.com for example can save you large amounts on the rate achievable and the transfer time.

The phone rang again three days later….it was Elsiha complaining the transfer had not been made and they were in danger of losing the property. They confirmed they had made the transfer and were worried, not just because it had not reached the destination but by the attitude of the Agent.

However it was too late. The Bank had indeed made the transfer after two days of internal process associated with most High Street lenders. Banks purport to process the money having taken it from your account and place it on London’s overnight money tree for 2 days gaining interest for them!

Then off it goes through the international banking system and it invariably gets stuck in Madrid or any Banking Capital for a few days collecting more interest for the receiving Bank before reaching its chosen destination.

In this case the private banking account of Madame Elisha!

She called again a few days later to confirm receipt and that all had gone well at the Notary’s office and the Spanish Property was now theirs! Relief all round for Brian and Jenny. The couple told her of their plans to go out in a few months to take control of their Dream Overseas Home. What they did not realize was that it was all about to go horribly wrong

Poor Brian. If only he had been working with an accredited agent of the mypropertypal Overseas Property Agents Association.

One week later she called again to ask for the balance to be sent to complete the purchase. She also told Brian to transfer an extra 25,000 Euros to cover for Notary fees, taxes and expenses. This seemed reasonable and Brian’s only concern was whether he had to book a flight to attend the completion appointment. Elisha told them that this would not be necessary as Brian had not only signed an instruction to his solicitor to act but the same document allowed for a Power of Attorney! This was a pleasant surprise or so it seemed at the time. How convenient. Brian and Jenny thought this was good news!

Or was it? Buyers of Property Overseas should never sign documents without a proper translation being available and only in exceptional cases give a Power of Attorney. The latter means what it says, a transfer of your power to a third party. In this instance they thought to a reliable and recommended solicitor in Spain.

Clever Alisha

Brian and Jenny transferred the amount from their ISA account to their current account and then asked their High Street Bank to transfer the amount to the bank account they were given by Madam Elisha.

Poor Brian

Buyers of Overseas Property should always seek help to transfer large amounts of money to an overseas account. Moneycorp.com for example can save you large amounts on the rate achievable and the transfer time.

The phone rang again three days later….it was Elsiha complaining the transfer had not been made and they were in danger of losing the property. They confirmed they had made the transfer and were worried, not just because it had not reached the destination but by the attitude of the Agent.

However it was too late. The Bank had indeed made the transfer after two days of internal process associated with most High Street lenders. Banks purport to process the money having taken it from your account and place it on London’s overnight money tree for 2 days gaining interest for them!

Then off it goes through the international banking system and it invariably gets stuck in Madrid or any Banking Capital for a few days collecting more interest for the receiving Bank before reaching its chosen destination.

In this case the private banking account of Madame Elisha!

She called again a few days later to confirm receipt and that all had gone well at the Notary’s office and the Spanish Property was now theirs! Relief all round for Brian and Jenny. The couple told her of their plans to go out in a few months to take control of their Dream Overseas Home. What they did not realize was that it was all about to go horribly wrong

Or was it? Buyers of Property Overseas should never sign documents without a proper translation being available and only in exceptional cases give a Power of Attorney. The latter means what it says, a transfer of your power to a third party. In this instance they thought to a reliable and recommended solicitor in Spain.

Clever Alisha

Brian and Jenny transferred the amount from their ISA account to their current account and then asked their High Street Bank to transfer the amount to the bank account they were given by Madam Elisha.

Poor Brian

Buyers of Overseas Property should always seek help to transfer large amounts of money to an overseas account. Moneycorp.com for example can save you large amounts on the rate achievable and the transfer time.

The phone rang again three days later….it was Elsiha complaining the transfer had not been made and they were in danger of losing the property. They confirmed they had made the transfer and were worried, not just because it had not reached the destination but by the attitude of the Agent.

However it was too late. The Bank had indeed made the transfer after two days of internal process associated with most High Street lenders. Banks purport to process the money having taken it from your account and place it on London’s overnight money tree for 2 days gaining interest for them!

Then off it goes through the international banking system and it invariably gets stuck in Madrid or any Banking Capital for a few days collecting more interest for the receiving Bank before reaching its chosen destination.

In this case the private banking account of Madame Elisha!

She called again a few days later to confirm receipt and that all had gone well at the Notary’s office and the Spanish Property was now theirs! Relief all round for Brian and Jenny. The couple told her of their plans to go out in a few months to take control of their Dream Overseas Home. What they did not realize was that it was all about to go horribly wrong

Buyers of Overseas Property should always seek help to transfer large amounts of money to an overseas account. Moneycorp.com for example can save you large amounts on the rate achievable and the transfer time.

The phone rang again three days later….it was Elsiha complaining the transfer had not been made and they were in danger of losing the property. They confirmed they had made the transfer and were worried, not just because it had not reached the destination but by the attitude of the Agent.

However it was too late. The Bank had indeed made the transfer after two days of internal process associated with most High Street lenders. Banks purport to process the money having taken it from your account and place it on London’s overnight money tree for 2 days gaining interest for them!

Then off it goes through the international banking system and it invariably gets stuck in Madrid or any Banking Capital for a few days collecting more interest for the receiving Bank before reaching its chosen destination.

In this case the private banking account of Madame Elisha!

She called again a few days later to confirm receipt and that all had gone well at the Notary’s office and the Spanish Property was now theirs! Relief all round for Brian and Jenny. The couple told her of their plans to go out in a few months to take control of their Dream Overseas Home. What they did not realize was that it was all about to go horribly wrong

Then off it goes through the international banking system and it invariably gets stuck in Madrid or any Banking Capital for a few days collecting more interest for the receiving Bank before reaching its chosen destination.

In this case the private banking account of Madame Elisha!

She called again a few days later to confirm receipt and that all had gone well at the Notary’s office and the Spanish Property was now theirs! Relief all round for Brian and Jenny. The couple told her of their plans to go out in a few months to take control of their Dream Overseas Home. What they did not realize was that it was all about to go horribly wrong They had completed their purchase in July and waited for cheaper flights and cooler weather before traveling out again in October. When they arrived they went straight to their new home and collected the key from the neighbor as had been arranged. There was no electricity in the house. Worse there was no water. Elisha had promised that services were connected and that she would pay the bills to maintain them from the money left over from expenses. She had not, and they had been cut off!

They phoned her several times her but got no reply.

They went to the office in Torrevieja to find it closed down and empty. Had she moved her office? Alarm bells started ring albeit gently. After all they had the key and only needed to connect the services again. They went to the local Bank where they had been told to transfer the money but received no information about any account set up by Elisha in their name. To be blunt the Bank had never heard of them.

Well, what to think? Had anyone heard of the Agent Elisha and why she had closed down? They had thought that there were several other branches but had no detail of where they might be! There were none.

They went to the Iberdrola office to enquire about an electricity supply. They gave their address and it was confirmed that a 1.5 supply was in place. Brian knew that with microwave ovens and other white goods let alone an air conditioning unit, he would need a much heavier supply. So he asked for the application forms for a 4.5 supply. Iberdrola agreed it was a good idea but said they would have to inspect the premises first before even re-connecting the original supply. At the water office it was an easier story. Re-connection was quite simple and could be achieved later that day. That impressed the sad couple until they were told that first the arrears would need to be paid and the disconnection and re-connection charges of 200 Euros, a total of 395 Euros! The girl spoke reasonable English and explained there were unpaid invoices for several months. Surely they didn’t have to pay for water they had not used?

In Spain services are provided to properties not people. Their solicitor should have checked it was clear or not and made the appropriate alteration with the seller for the cost. It had not been done.

With the water supply restored later that day they felt a little better until a few days later a visit was made by the man from Iberdrola, the local Electricity Company. He informed them in Spanish and in written English on a standard form, that the wiring in the house was illegal, out of date and not up to the required standard, therefore the supply could not be resumed until a substantial amount of internal work had been completed.

This often happens in Spain and when a bill is left unpaid they disconnect you. In order to ensure houses re-wire to the correct standard they will not reconnect. Often a 1.5 supply is inadequate fo