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Diego Echavarria – Founding Partner – Fairway Lawyers Costa del Sol

Fairway Lawyers’ founding partner Diego Echavarria regularly writes articles for English-speaking media in Spain

If you have or had a mortgage in Spain you could be eligible for a refund

Supreme Court ruling opens door to claim back some costs associated with taking out a home loan In December 2015, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that mortgage clauses introduced by Banco Popular and BBVA that forced borrowers to pay for all fees associated with taking out home loans were abusive. Instead, the court ruled that the banks should pay for all or at least part of these set-up expenses, because it is the lenders who have an interest in making a formal record of the mortgage deed. Ever since then, various trial courts and appellate courts have handed down decisions both in favour and against borrowers. The consumer associations Adicae and […]

Dec 15

British homeowners in Spain can still apply for a Golden Visa and potentially avoid needing a fresh €500,000 – this is how

SPANISH prime minister Pedro Sanchez recently announced his intention to cancel the Golden Visa scheme. The Socialist PSOE leader said the move would stop speculation of the property market. The programme grants any foreigner residency if they buy a home worth €500,000 or more. The law was approved in 2012 in the middle of a recession following the real estate crash in 2010. Its main aim was to reactivate the Spanish property market and attract foreign investors to buy all the real estate portfolio left with the banks, especially in those days when prices were extremely low and economies were suffering across the EU. During its first years, the main […]

Dec 15

Off-plan checklist: These are the most important things you need to know about the process in Spain

BUYING off-plan is when you purchase a property before it is built. This model has several advantages in Spain, like having more time to save and knowing the property is brand new. However, it is not without its difficulties, including having to wait to move into the house and certain associated risks, like the development being cancelled. It is therefore crucial to be fully aware of the implications and details of this type of real estate transaction before taking the plunge. In the last real estate crunch in Spain, between 2009 and 2012, hundreds of complexes were left unfinished and thousands of buyers lost their investments because developers failed to […]

Oct 19

Thousands of British homeowners in Spain could be owed €40,000-plus compensation over ‘floor clause’ mortgage scandal – this is how to claim

BRITISH homeowners are winning up to €48,500 in compensation after major banks in Spain were exposed for putting a hidden clause in their mortgages. In the early 2000s a string of lenders secretly wrote in their contracts that their clients’ payable interest rate could not drop below 3.5% – in what is now known as a ‘floor clause’. But for 10 years, between 2011 and 2021, the interest rate in Spain sat between 0-1%. It means countless homeowners spent years paying hundreds of euros more per month than necessary. Fairway Lawyers, based in Marbella, has been at the forefront of winning back money for affected homeowners – and on a […]

Feb 14

British expats forced to leave Spain – ‘don’t feel confident’ with new Brexit rules

By ESTHER MARSHALL – www.express.co.uk Diego Echavarria is an expert in Spanish residency law. He is the founding partner of Fairway Lawyers on the Costa del Sol and spoke to Express.co.uk about British expats in Spain. He told Express.co.uk that one of his clients was asked to leave Spain in 72 hours after she struggled to prove she had residency. He said: “I had a case where someone who is a citizen in Spain couldn’t justify it. They gave her 72 hours to leave the country. “She was able to prove that she had residency so she was fine but I don’t know what’s going to happen to other people […]

Oct 14

Spain rejects 2,000 residency applications after Brexit – these are the most common reasons

Many Britons wish to retire in the Mediterranean country, looking for sun, warm weather and delicious food. This year, however, many UK nationals who applied for Spanish residency under the Withdrawal Agreement had their applications rejected. Many even received notices saying they had to leave the country within 15 days or they could be classified as illegal. Why? According to recent data by the EU’s Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights, Spanish authorities received 168,700 applications for residency in September 2021. Out of these, 141,700 have now been concluded. According to the report, 81,200 applications were approved for permanent residence, meaning it was granted to those Britons who had been living in Spain […]

Sep 25

Olive Press newspaper interview with Diego Echavarria

Olive Press reporter Katherine Brook sat down with one of Spain’s best lawyers, Diego Echavarria, to discuss how he’s helped over 50 people who were victims of the floor clause claim back hundreds of thousands of pounds, as well as what problems Brits are currently facing in the country. Tell us a bit about yourself Diego? I was brought up in Madrid, which is where I studied to become a lawyer, splitting my time between there and Germany. I moved to Marbella in 2001 and then set up my own company, Fairway Lawyers, in 2006. Why Marbella? I specialise in being an English speaking lawyer, and Marbella’s a great place […]

May 01

Residency in Spain for UK nationals: Can a lawyer fix application problems and speed up the process?

Diego Echavarria of Fairway Lawyers in Marbella has recently been interviewed by The Local Spain after several of their British readers have contacted them to say they’re having problems getting their residency in Spain, and questioning why there are so many delays. The reporter spoke to several lawyers to find out what most the common residency issues are, how to correct them and why getting legal help might speed up the process. Gerard Martínez from Balcells Group in Barcelona explained to The Local that the vast majority of residency problems they are seeing now involve foreigners not knowing the best path to residency and not being sure about what their options are. Most […]

Apr 24

How to buy a home in Spain as a foreigner

By www.thedeliciousday.com Diego Echavarría has practised real estate and immigration law in Malaga and throughout Andalucía for 20 years. I chatted with him via Zoom to learn the ins and outs of home buying in Spain for foreigners and why a real estate attorney is an absolute must. Here is a little of what he had to say… Why is a lawyer required when buying a home in Spain? Basically, you always need an attorney when you’re a foreign person investing in Spain. There are a lot of legal requirements and issues that most people do not know about. Lawyers check if the property has any debts and if the mortgages have […]

Feb 13

Do you have a mortgage in Spain? Take our two-minute test to see if you’re owed money by your lender

Forget the coronavirus… there is something almost as bad for many homeowners in Spain. Let’s call it the BANKING PANDEMIA, or the Floor Clause illness, also known as the ‘Clausula Suelo’ or ‘Suelo Hipotecario’. This was simply a clause that was inserted into variable rate mortgage agreements in Spain during the last 20 years that affects the interest rate payable on the mortgage. And it means that mortgage holders are being conned and do not benefit from the fall in the EURIBOR as there will be a minimum rate of interest payable on the mortgage (this floor, also known as a ‘suelo’ is often 3- 4% depending on the bank). […]

I would like to say how delighted I am with service I received from Fairway Lawyers. I found them to be very helpful, professional and very easy to talk to. I employed the services of Fairway Lawyers to start and register my new SL company. They dealt with every matter on my behalf and kept me well informed throughout the process, via telephone and email.

A. Mortimer (Clean Getaway SL)

When we engaged you we had been informed that you are specialists in real estate transactions, which proved to be essential, but we were not expecting that you would also help us earn more from the sale than we had anticipated.

Brandon Ahearn, Lawyer in Lugano

I would like to thank your lawyer Diego Echavarria for the very professional manner in which he handled my recent action to recover monies owed to me. It was a difficult case and he clarified in advance all the legal processes he had to undertake on my behalf. He kept me abreast of progress throughout, and thanks to his efforts we reached a successful conclusion.

Simone Lilley, Estepona

Just to let you know that Daisy now has her health card and an official letter from the Spanish health service saying she is entitled to the same health benefits as she got in the UK, so finally all has ended well. Daisy and I thank you so much for all your efforts in getting this matter sorted for us. It is all such a relief.

Edward and Daisy