That's it! We're buying the flat.

Ok. After the big disappointing last week we sat and talked (me still with a husky voice, wish you can hear it).

We arrived to the wise conclusion that the perfect flat, big, brand new, just around the corner from the tube station and the centre not to mention cheap as chips does not exist. Plus they're getting more and more expensive by the day. So, we've seen enough and we're going for our second best. Today.

After visiting at least 20 flats each of us we actually narrowed our choice to two options:
1- a very compact (tiny) but lovely two and a half bedroom flat in the center of town, top floor (six storey building), newish, one bathroom, tiny kitchen, smallish living room/dinner, two small balconies and one tiny laundry room. No own parking and hard to find a place to park the car because is right in the middle of downtown. Just 3 blocks away from the tube station. Asked price: 300.000 euros (around 240,000 pounds).
2- bigish flat, 3 bedrooms, kitchen dinner, living room, balcony, one little office (could also be used as a walk-in closet), two bathrooms, laudry room, second floor (8 storey building), newish. The location is not as good specially regarding the tube (at least 10 blocks away) but it's close enough to the shops (it's actually opposite to a big supermarket) and just around the corner to loads of bus stops to everywhere. No parking but the streets are quieter but nevertheless close enough to the center so we could park somewhere around (or in the supermarket parking lot, maybe) and walk to the shops. Asked price: 292.000 euros (around 220,000 pounds).

"The husband" liked the first one because it fits with his original idea of going to work by tube.
I liked the second one because it's bigger and has one room apart form the others and with its own bathroom for guests (specially useful if my dad or mother in law came and stay with us, and also for you, oh, readers in case you'd visit us). My idea is that "the husband" needs some exercise anyway ans walking is a good one, and that argument won the day (or perhaps was the husky voice?).
We're going for the second one.

So, we went to state agent and told him so. I tried my best hard bargaining personality but I'm afraid that they only reduced the price to 289.490 euros.
Are you wondering why the funny number? Well, in Spain they use the euros for most transaction excepts for big deal such as real state. It seems that people old enough to buy houses can only grasp the value of a them in pesetas, the old money. So, our flat's price was something such as 48 millions and we bargained the price down in a few millions resulting in the funny not rounded amount you saw.
The whole buying procedure is completely different than in England. For starters the state agents not only want your word that you want to buy the flat but you have to produce hard cash for the agency to take the flat out of the market. They not only don't trust your word, they don't even trust your cheques!! In our case it was 500 euros fresh from the cashpoint around the corner that did it.
Then the sellers, the state agents and us have to sign a contract called "contrato de arras" to start the whole selling hullabaloo. We'll have to produce 10% of the house price to secure the whole thing. Then, if we pull out of the buying for wathever reason. they keep the money, and if they pull out they have to give us double what we gave.
We're going to sign this next Friday.
I, not without sarcasm, did ask if they expected us to bring that amount in cash to the notary next Friday and was told that of course not, that a special cheque double crossed and with the personal signature of HRH the Queen will be ok. Seriously, it has to be a very speciall kind of cheque that banks here do for this.
To paraphrase my American friends: the Spaniards don't believe in cheques.