Prior Pre-contractual Information
In compliance with Article 35 of Law 5/2019 of 15 March, regulating real estate credit
agreements1 (hereinafter, “LCCI”), the company FINANCIAL NORTH REAL ESTATE CAPITAL EXPERTS SOCIEDAD LIMITADA, (hereinafter, FINANCIAL NORTH) provides the USER or potential client, with sufficient advance notice and on a durable medium, with the present precontractual information relating to its real estate credit intermediation activity, so that the USER may clearly understand the identity of the INTERMEDIARY, the scope of its services, its remuneration regime, its complaint mechanisms and the remaining general conditions applicable before taking any contracting decision:
A.- Object and scope of activity of the INTERMEDIARY
1.- FINANCIAL NORTH®’s corporate purpose is the provision of the service of REAL ESTATE CREDIT INTERMEDIATION in accordance with the LCCI, for the conclusion of loan agreements granted by natural or legal persons who carry out such activity professionally, where the borrower (the person who receives the money as a loan or credit), the surety or guarantor is a natural person and such agreement has as its purpose:
a) The granting of loans secured by a mortgage or other real-property security interest over a residential-use property, as well as those elements such as storage rooms, garages, and any others which, without constituting a dwelling as such, fulfil a domestic function.
https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2019-3814
b) The granting of mortgage loans the purpose of which is to acquire or retain ownership rights over land or buildings, whether already built or to be built.
c)For clarity, Financial North does not enter into loan agreements on behalf of the lender.
2.- Real estate credit intermediation is understood as:
Putting a natural person in contact, directly or indirectly, with a lender (the person or company granting the financing) and, in addition, performing any of the following functions in respect of the loan agreements:
a. Presenting or offering said loan agreements to the borrowers.
b. Assisting borrowers by carrying out the preliminary formalities or other pre-contractual arrangements in respect of said loan agreements.
B.- Registry identification and means of verification
3.- So that the USER may verify due compliance with the registration of FINANCIAL NORTH as a Real Estate Credit Intermediary duly registered with the Bank of Spain and authorised to operate in the market, the USER is informed that the regulator’s database may be accessed at the following link:
https://www.bde.es/wbe/es/entidades-profesionales/operativa-gestiones/registros/registros-entidades/
https://app.bde.es/rbe_spa/detalle/55001
4.- This pre-contractual information, prior to any contract or obligation between the parties, is intended to help the USER become familiar with the company FINANCIAL NORTH and the mortgage services it offers, before taking any contracting decision.
5.- FINANCIAL NORTH informs the USER that it is not tied to one or several credit institutions or non-credit lenders. This allows it to operate with independence from the interests of the lenders, seeking financing in line with the financial and real estate transaction characteristics of each client.
FINANCIAL NORTH does not provide advisory services nor does it issue personalised recommendations to the USER as to which loan is most suitable for the USER.
C.- General regime of remuneration and incentives
6.- The services provided by FINANCIAL NORTH fall within the definition of intermediation regulated by Article 4.5 of the LCCI and, in detail, each service and function is duly set out in the intermediation agreement to be signed; specifically, the services contracted by the CLIENT shall carry a cost of between 1.25% and 2.75% of the total financed and granted amount in the case of a mortgage for the acquisition of real estate, the same fee range applying to the refinancing of financial debt with or without mortgage security, as well as to corporate finance management. In any event, the minimum fees for the intermediation services shall be EUR 20,000 and the minimum financing amount shall be EUR 2 million. Likewise:
a) The CLIENT shall be informed, before becoming bound, of the amount or method of calculation of the remuneration.
b) The individual intermediation agreement shall expressly determine the time of accrual, the form of payment and, where applicable, the applicable taxes.
c) No amount shall be deemed accrued for items not previously accepted by the client or for services not actually rendered.
Such fees shall accrue at the moment when any of the real estate lenders presents the USER with the European Standardised Information Sheet (hereinafter, “FEIN”), that is, the binding offer with the conditions of the loan available for signing, and the same is accepted by the USER and shall be payable before signing the loan at the Notary’s office.
Should the USER ultimately decide not to attend the Notary’s office to sign the loan intermediated by the PROVIDER through the FEIN presented by the real estate lender, this shall not release the USER from the obligation to pay the agreed fees.
Likewise, if the USER decides not to sign the FEIN intermediated by FINANCIAL NORTH but ultimately signs the mortgage loan transaction as a result of the professional services rendered by the intermediary, such fees shall accrue and become payable.
7.- Likewise, and in the interests of full transparency, we hereby inform that FINANCIAL NORTH may also receive commissions from third-party entities with which it may collaborate in the context of providing the service to the USER, such as the real estate lenders themselves. Such commissions shall not be deducted from the fees charged TO THE USER, and information on these commissions may be provided, where such commission collection is to take place, if expressly requested by the USER, as set out in the intermediation agreement signed with the USER.
D.- Expenses of third parties outside the INTERMEDIARY
8.- During the processing of the mortgage-secured loan or credit, the engagement of other services may be necessary, such as the appropriate bank appraisal or the issuance of a “nota simple” from the Land Registry, prior to the real estate lenders issuing the FEIN. Such services and fees are entirely independent of FINANCIAL NORTH and shall be paid by the USER.
E.- Right of withdrawal
9.- Should the USER decide to sign with FINANCIAL NORTH the requisite intermediation agreement, the USER shall have the right to withdraw within fourteen (14) calendar days from its execution, as provided for in Article 20.1 of Law 2/2009 of 31 March , without the need to state any reason and without bearing any penalty. That is, if for any reason the service of FINANCIAL NORTH is no longer of interest within that period, the USER may cancel the professional engagement at no cost.
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In order to exercise the right of withdrawal, the client shall send, at its option, either a written communication by letter, preferably registered, addressed to our offices at Avenida Asunción 32, 5º a – 38007, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, or by reliable email with acknowledgement of receipt to: contacto@financialnorth.com
10.- FINANCIAL NORTH may terminate the agreement once it has established the impossibility of finding a market solution meeting the USER’s requirements within a period exceeding THIRTY (30) DAYS. In order to exercise such contractual termination, FINANCIAL NORTH shall send the USER the appropriate individual communication to the postal or email address provided by the USER.
F.-Internal complaints procedure
11.- FINANCIAL NORTH hereby informs that it has the appropriate internal mechanisms to resolve any extrajudicial complaints and grievances that USERS may wish to submit. Complaints may be submitted in person at the registered office, or through any durable medium, by sending an email to reclamaciones@financialnorth.com
Such complaints shall be resolved within a maximum period of one month, with reasons given and on a durable medium, by FINANCIAL NORTH to the USER. However, should the identity of the complainant not be sufficiently established, or should the facts underlying the complaint not be clearly determinable, the complainant shall be required to complete the documentation submitted within ten calendar days. That period shall not be included in the computation of the period for resolving the complaint.
G.- Applicable law, dispute resolution and jurisdiction
12.- The intermediation agreement shall be governed by Spanish law. In particular, the LCCI, and, on a subsidiary basis, Law 2/2009 of 31 March. In addition, the Consolidated Text of the General Law on Consumers and Users, of 16 November, approving the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users, shall apply .
13.- For the resolution of any doubt or dispute that may arise in the interpretation or effectiveness of the intermediation agreement and that cannot be resolved out of court between the parties, the parties may choose the jurisdiction of the Courts or alternatively submit to Consumer Arbitration, with the Spanish Courts or arbitration bodies having jurisdiction.
14.- The law applicable to the intermediation agreement shall be Spanish law. All disputes that may arise between the parties in relation to its interpretation, performance or any breach shall be subject to the arbitral or judicial jurisdiction of Spain.
3 https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2009-5391
4 https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2007-20555
H.- Personal data protection
15.- The data processing described in the preceding section is governed, primarily, by Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and, in its implementation, by Organic Law 3/2018 (LOPDGDD). In compliance with Article 13 GDPR, the information in the preceding section is supplemented with the following points: (i) Legal bases: the performance of the intermediation agreement and the pre-contractual measures adopted at the request of the USER (Art. 6.1.b GDPR); compliance with legal obligations applicable to FINANCIAL NORTH as a Real Estate Credit Intermediary (RECI) and as an obliged entity for the prevention of money laundering (Art. 6.1.c GDPR); and, for consultation of credit information systems (CIRBE, ASNEF, BADEXCUG, EQUIFAX), the specific consent which shall be obtained separately (Art. 6.1.a GDPR), provided such consultation is necessary. (ii) Retention periods: the data shall be kept for the duration of the agreement and, thereafter, for the applicable legal periods (Commercial Code: 6 years; General Tax Law: 4 years; Law 10/2010 on the prevention of money laundering: 10 years; Sixth Additional Provision of the LCCI: 6 years). (iii) Complaints: the USER has the right to lodge a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency (www.aepd.es), particularly if it considers that the processing does not comply with the regulations in force. (iv) Automated decisions: FINANCIAL NORTH does not take automated decisions, including profiling, with legal effects on the USER. (v) Data Protection Officer: financialnorth@protecciondedatos.info . (vi) Disclosures: the disclosures referred to in the preceding section shall be made only to the specific real estate lenders to whom the transaction is presented, as well as to those third parties strictly necessary for the processing of the file, in compliance with the principles of data minimisation and purpose limitation under Article 5 GDPR.
I.- Information on the loan formalisation procedure
For information purposes only, FINANCIAL NORTH alerts the USER to the following relevant milestones in the loan formalisation procedure, which are the lender’s responsibility:
(a) Reflection period and FEIN. Before signing the loan, and with at least ten (10) calendar days’ advance notice, the lender shall deliver to the USER the European Standardised Information Sheet (FEIN) — which shall be considered a binding offer for the lender for a period of no less than ten days — together with the Standardised Warnings Sheet (FiAE), a draft of the agreement and the detailed information on the costs of the transaction, in accordance with Article 14.1 LCCI.
(b) Free notarial deed of record. The USER shall appear before the notary of its choice for the authorisation of the deed of record on material transparency prior to the loan. The deed is free of charge for the USER. (c) Tied sales. The lender may not impose on the USER the contracting of accessory products or services other than the loan, except in the cases of combined sales permitted by law.
Additional information:
For further information about our services, you may access our General Terms and Conditions through the following link to our website:
https://www.financialnorth.com/
For further information regarding the information needed to enter into a mortgage loan for the acquisition of a dwelling, and its conceptual and practical aspects, the Bank of Spain’s website may be consulted:
https://www.bde.es/bde/es/secciones/informes/publicaciones-varias/miscelanea/guia-de-acceso-al-prestamo-hipotecario/
notice: Please be advised that the Spanish version of all legal texts on this website shall prevail in the event of any discrepancy with any translation.