PROCESS OF BUYING PROPERTY IN SPAIN

BUYING PROPERTY IN SPAIN? CHECK OUT BEFORE SIGNING ANYTHING!!!

• Before buying your villa, you have to see the Escritura Pública, with a report from the property registry, Nota Simple, which shows that the seller is the owner of the property and have the right to sell it.
• Receipts of payment for IBI, annual Property Tax
• Catastral Certificate with the description of the villa in spain, which is the only legally valid description of the property, to compare with the information given by the seller
• Community fees paid up to date and others receipts for all utility bills.
• If you are buying property in Spain directly from the developer, it is necessary to have information about the company, property deeds, construction licenses and occupancy permission.

PROPERTY CONTRACT

When buying a property you must know that there are two types of contract: Private (is used as a pre- contract) and Public (is signed in presence of a Public Notary to obtain a legally binding contract).

The private contract is necessary in case the property buyer needs time to obtain the total amount for the property (mortgage or time to transfer the money to Spain). In this private contract, normally, you put down a deposit of 10% to bind the property and stipulate that the rest of the money will be paid by a certain date.

This deposit of money is called “ARRAS”, and guarantee that the sale of the villa will be completed within a given period of time.

If you have decided to buy property in Spain, signed the contract and one of the parts break it… what happens? There is a penalty:

• If is the seller of the villa, he has to pay the buyer double the deposit.
• If is the buyer of the villa, he/she will loose the deposit.

The private contract sets out all the conditions of the property: the agreed price, what is included in the price, how it should be paid, the state of the property, date of sale, including the conditions for who will be responsible for costs and taxes of the transaction. Identification of buyer and seller, who is the owner of the villa, not the estate agent

Normally, the seller of the property, through the state agent, will have prepared a private contract ready to be signed. Before signing, give it to your lawyer to revise any clause and make suggestions, if you feel it is necessary also have a translation into English or your native language from the original contract.

Sometimes it is not necessary to sign this private contract: if you have the money and like the villa, you can go directly to the Notary, pay the full price and make the “Escritura Pública de Compra- Venta”.

PUBLIC TITLE DEED (Escritura de Compraventa)

The Public Title Deed is the Public Contract, signed in presence of a Spanish Notary, by both parts (buyer and seller) in order to have total legal protection.

The buyer has the right to choose the notary and pays his/her fees.

The notary certifies that the contract has been signed, the money paid, and advices of the tax obligations to the buyer and seller. The notary registers the signed contract in the local Property Registry and makes the document public, appearing the buyer as the new legal owner.

The original document is kept in the Notary Office with the stamps of the Registro de la Propiedad, including a “Nota Simple” from the Property Registry, the day before the signing of the deed, with information about possible charges or mortgages.

SPANISH PROPERTY REGISTRY

The Notary register the Escritura de Compraventa Contract with the Property Registry, and then the contract is Public Document. The registered document is returned to the notary, who will give you an authorised copy, and the original is always kept in the Notary.

The process of registering your villa in spain may take a few months and to avoid problems during this time, you should ask for a Special Notification sent by fax from the Notary’s office to the Spanish Property Registry.