Buying Spanish Property: 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?
Many foreign countries have different regulations regarding the buying and selling of property; this includes Spain where such transactions are regulated. As such hiring an English speaking lawyer would be advisable. Validate that the Spanish property you plan to purchase is free of restrictive clauses and debts.
The legal process for purchasing property located in Spain falls under two types of transactions. The first legal document is the preliminary contract, known as Contrato privado de compraventa, and the second is the completion contract, known as Escritura de compraventa.
Once the buyer and seller are in agreement on the price then they need to sign a preliminary sales contract. 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. The purchaser must pay the debts of their property as part of their %LINK2% agreement. 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%. These funds will be held for you in a bonded client account. A person would theoretically be able to sign the initial sales contract without a deposit, but it isn’t necessarily a good idea.
The Escritura de compraventa stage, is the second or final contract stage. The customer will need to pay all fees and the price of the product on the date of completion. The vendor and the purchaser will then come together to sign the contract, which is equivalent to 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. To make this legal, a copy of the dded must get to a tax office, and then sent to a property registry. In Spain, Notary Publics are public officials required to witness a deed of sale, but you should also make sure to have your own independent expert legal advice to make sure that your own interests are protected during this legal process. Remember too that as the buyer you will be responsible for paying the Notary Public’s charges along with the real estate sales taxes.
