Is black money in property deals in Spain that common?
Our (Spanish but English-speaking) estate agent claims that in Spain everybody pays a part of the final sales price in cash. She calls the cash payment “black money”. The sellers of the chalet we want to buy have accepted our offer, but want us to pay 20% agreed price in cash. Our estate agent is encouraging us to agree but we feel uneasy about handing over a big wad of notes and receiving no receipt. What would you advise us to? Your estate agent is right, it is common practice in Spain to “camouflage” the real sale price, although recent legislation makes it more difficult to do so than it used to be. Even though black money continues to change hands in the majority of second-hand property deal in Spain, it is very much against the law and you need to be aware of that when you make your decision. Your estate agent will encourage you to agree because she may have agreed with the vendors that her commission on the sale will be paid to her in cash too, taken directly from the cash paid
