The Purchase Process in Spain
To protect your interests, assuring you that the legal guarantees
for the purchase of the property and all Spanish legal requirements
are met.
The purchase process has three steps, the first and most important step
being the Reservation of the property, the next step is to sign the Private
Contract and the third and final step is Completion.
Reservation of the property
When you have found the property that you wish to buy, in order to have
the option to purchase it, we must take it off the market. When we pay
the holding deposit to the current owner, he has to sign a document,
in which he gives you the option to buy the property.
After the first step has been taken care of, we will proceed to carry
out all the necessary searches and investigations of the property with
the relevant authorities in order to ensure that the property you are
purchasing is in perfect legal conditions and free from any charges,
debts or encumbrances. In the case of a new property, we will ensure
that the constructors are reputable and solvent and will obtain guarantees
that the property will be constructed and delivered according the agreed
terms and conditions.
In the event that we should find any abnormalities with the property
in question, the reservation deposit will be refunded to the buyer. If
the property has a problem you will get your money back before the signing
of the Private Contract. As soon as we confirm that the property is in
perfect legal situation we can go to the next step.
Private contract
Once the searches are complete, and we are absolutely certain the property
is legally declared in the best conditions to purchase; a Private Contract
is drafted and signed by both parties. This private contract sets out
all the details of the agreement, payment terms and Completion Date.
During this stage the buyer puts down a non-fundable deposit less the
holding deposit paid at the reservation stage.
Completion
Completion on the purchase of the property takes place in the presence
of a Spanish Notary, when the buyer and the seller sign the Title Deeds
(Escritura de Compraventa) of the property. The Notary is an official
of the State, his duty is to certify that the contract has been signed,
and that the purchaser and seller have been advised of their tax obligations.
He is the person that makes sure that all the legal requirements are
in place and that the Completion money is paid.
If you are not able to be in Spain for completion, we can make arrangements
to sign the Title Deeds on your behalf. This procedure involves processing
a Power of Attorney document which can be done during your next visit
to Spain, or alternatively through your own Notary in Great Britain.
We would be pleased to advise you in this respect.
Title deeds and registration of your property
Once the completion process has been finalised and you have become the
owner of the property in question, we then proceed to register the property
at the Land Registry office so that you will appear as the new legal
owner. The Land Registry will notify us as soon as the Deeds are available
for collection, which normally takes place between two and three months
after the signing of the Deeds.
Utilities
We will arrange for the utilities of the property (electricity, water,
etc.) to be registered in your name and for the bills to be debited to
your Spanish bank account. If you do not have a Spanish bank account
or an N.I.E number we can obtain these for you.
