So youve found your dream holiday home, arranged your mortgage in Spain and are now ready to complete the purchase
Buying property in Spain is highly regulated. The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your money is to hire an English-speaking lawyer or legal counsel to help you during the purchase and negotiation. Be certain there are no debts or restrictions on the property you plan to purchase.
The legal process for purchasing property located in Spain falls under two types of transactions. First you have the preliminary contract, or Contrato privado de compraventa, and then you have the completion contract, or Escritura de compraventa.
Once both parties have agreed to the price, then a preliminary private sales contract should be signed. Before this Contrato privado de compraventa has been signed, however, the vendor needs to be able to provide proof that he or she owns the property, and that it is free of any charges. Debts are charged to the property themselves in Spain, and any outstanding mortgage amount would then be passed on to the purchaser. Nota Simple tells about outstanding debts.
The completion date, overall price, and property description will all be elaborated in the preliminary sales contract. When you reach this point, you can expect to pay a deposit of 5-15%. A bonded client account is where the funds will be kept for you. 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. On the completion date, the balance of the price of purchase and all fees need to be paid by the purchaser. Both the vendor and the buyer must sign the contract at the same time. This contract is equivalent to a deed on the purchased property. The purchaser will receive the public deed of conveyance, known in Spain as the escritura, 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. If you are in Spain, a Notary Public will be required as a witness on you deed of sale. Don’t just rely in that, though. You will want to have your own lawyer to keep your best interests foremost throughout the proceeeding. Part of the fees for purchasing include property tax, and legal fees for your Notary Public.