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Premier Law
An award-winning boutique law firm based on the sunny Costa del Sol.
Belén Cepero
Belén Cepero is founder and CEO of Premier Law, an award-winning boutique law firm based on the sunny Costa del Sol in Spain that specialises in real estate and tax law, as well as the popular Spanish Golden Visa. Tis month Property Mail had the pleasure of interviewing her and unveiling the secrets to her success.
Congratulations for the award as a BOUTIQUE PROPERTY LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR 2020 IN SPAIN. Could you tell us more about this award? Tank you! Well, we’ve certainly had a great start to the year - we were awarded the prestigious Global Law Experts “Boutique Property Law Firm of the Year” 2020. Tis is fantastic news for us as it means that our hard work as an independent law firm has paid off and been recognized on an international level. Te New Year has also involved a lot of work coming in for the firm, which is of course a reward in itself.
Tell us about your career as a lawyer. I completed my Bachelor’s in Law in 1991 and jumped straight into my Master’s in 1992. During the early years of my career, I worked with a multinational firm that specialised in setting up companies all around the world. I held an important role here developing the Spanish companies we created and the link between them and Spanish real estate. Tis was some thirty years ago and the world has changed a lot since, but then again so have I. Tis job was my first taste of the legal profession and was the reason I decided to dedicate my life (and legal practice) to real estate and property law. In the present day, I combine my passion for property and tax law in Spain with a legal consultancy service based in Dubai, India, the US, Europe and Australia. Tis work has opened many doors for me and
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given me the opportunity to discover many different legal jurisdictions around the globe aside from the Spanish system. Te main advantage of this is that my vision and understanding of the world that we live in has totally shiſted and given me a much wider (and wiser!) perspective.
How do you see the property market in Marbella and the Costa del Sol? We all know that Marbella is a best-selling brand. Málaga continues to develop its own personality and has amazing potential as a big city with all kinds of opportunities for both residents and tourists. However while the coastal areas are becoming increasingly populated, the small “traditional Spanish white villages” are being deserted. Tis is such a shame, as I think the quality of life in these quaint little villages can sometimes be even better than a beachside view can offer you. With reference to the property market itself, I foresee that we are going to witness a very positive evolution within the real estate world. Maybe there are too many people doing the same thing at the same time, but in recent years a great number of professional abuse has surfaced due to lack of regulations and sanctions for these types of malpractice. However, this is changing for good in Andalusia, following other regional regulations in other areas of Spain. Te Law 1/2018 passed by the Andalusian Parliament is a good example of this revolutionary evolution. Tis new law will be complemented by a regional decree which will create a registry for individuals and legal entities who provide intermediary, advice, management and services related to property transactions such as acquisitions, sales, rentals or home exchanges, therefore holding them more personally liable for their actions.
Te agents who wish to have access to the Real Estate registry will have to meet some requirements such as: - Professional, University Degree or Training (minimum of 200 hours on specific courses) - A specific and physical establishment or an address when providing the services electronically - Civil responsibility insurance - Certificate of criminal records - A bank guarantee to cover amounts received from clients when acting as agents. Tis new requirement for Estate agents to be registered will benefit the consumers. Potential buyers, property owners, landlords, tenants and sellers should seek registered agents as from nearly now. As always, we would also recommend an INDEPENDENT LAWYER with no links or connections with the estate agents, as this is the only way to guarantee total transparency, legal security and protection for all the customers wishing to invest in the area. Buying a property, whether a main home or a holiday residence, requires not only experience and expertise, but also, like in every other country, to be regulated as it is one of the most important transactions that we will make in our lives. In the same way that doctors, architects, quantity surveyors, nurses, lawyers, accountants and so on belong to public regulated corporations, colleges or official associations it is obviously needed that all the real estate agencies, whether big, medium or small, are also registered. Tank you so much for taking the
time to answer our questions, Belén. Congratulations once again on your big win!
If you wish to contact Belén and her team at Premier Law, please call +34 952 764 483 or visit
www.premierlaw.net.
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