Purchasing Spanish Property: the Legal Procedure Explained
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. Validate that the Spanish property you plan to purchase is free of restrictive clauses and debts.
There are two different categories when it comes to the legal process of purchasing Spanish property. First you have the Contrato privado de compraventa, or the preliminary contract, and then you have the Escritura de compravents, or completion contract.
Once both parties have agreed to the price, then a preliminary private sales contract should be signed. 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. The purchaser must pay the debts of their property as part of their %LINK2% agreement. Nota Simple determins which properties contain overdue 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. These funds will be held for you in a bonded client account. It is possible though not advisable to sign the private preliminary sales contract without putting down a deposit.
The ultimate stage is the decond stage only as it will decide the future of the contract. It is also known as 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. 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 copy of this deed will also be passed to the tax office and to the property registry as well to make everything legal. 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. Also keep in mind that as the purchaser you will be required to pay property sales taxes as well as the legal fees for the Notary Public.
