BuyingProperty in Spain: the Legal Procedure Explained
Youve found the house and negotiated a price. Youve arranged your Spanish mortgages All there is to do now is complete the purchase. How?
In Spain, the process of purchasing Spanish property is regulated, and the best thing that you can do to protect your interests is to employ an English-speaking solicitor or lawyer to assist you. You will want to make sure that the Spanish property you are purchasing is free of restrictive clauses and debts.
There are two different categories in the Spanish legal processes for the purchase of property. First you have the preliminary contract, or Contrato privado de compraventa, and then you have the completion contract, or Escritura de compraventa.
Once the buyer and seller are in agreement on the price then they need to sign a preliminary sales contract. Before the Contrato privado de compraventa is signed, the vendor must show proof of ownership, and also proof that there are no liens or judgements against the property. Debts are charged to the property themselves in Spain, and any outstanding mortgage amount would then be passed on to the purchaser. Nota Simple documents were developed to validate if a property has an outstanding debts.
Details such as completion date, price and description will be written in the first sales contract. At this point you will also be more than likely required to pay a deposit of between 5 percent and 15 percent of the purchase price. This money shall be held in escrow for your benefit. A person would theoretically be able to sign the initial sales contract without a deposit, but it isn’t necessarily a good idea.
The second stage is the final contract stage, or the Escritura de compraventa stage. The purchaser will be required to pay the balance of the purchase price and all fees on the date of completion. The buyer and seller will meet to finalize the deal with a contract, which is the same as a deed on the property. Also known in Spain as the escritura, the purchaser will received this deed which is usually in front of a Notary Public. A photocopy of the deed will be provided to the tax official and property registrat to ensure everything is legitimate. In Spain, all deeds of sale must be witnessed by a Notary Public, which is a public official in that country. However, you need to have your own legal counsel to protect your own interests during the transaction. While buying any property do remember that property sales taxes and legal fees for the Notary Public is also to be paid by you only.
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