Purchasing Spanish Property: a Description of the Legal System
Once youve chosen your ideal property and found a Spanish mortgage how do you go about completing the purchase?
It is in your best interest to hire an English-speaking lawyer to assist you in the process of purchasing regulated Spanish property. Validate that the Spanish property you plan to purchase is free of restrictive clauses and debts.
The legal process for buying a Spanish property falls into two different categories. First you have the Contrato privado de compraventa, or the preliminary contract, and then you have the Escritura de compravents, or completion contract.
There should be a preliminary private sales contract signed once you have both agreed on a purchase price. 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. In Spain, debts are attached to the property, so any mortgage that was outstanding would transfer to the buyer. Nota Simple tells about outstanding debts.
Details such as completion date, price and description will be written in the first 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. It is possible though not advisable to sign the private preliminary sales contract without putting down a deposit.
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. The vendor and the purchaser will then come together to sign the contract, which is equivalent to a deed on the property. The purchaser will receive the public deed of conveyance, known in Spain as the escritura, 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, all deeds of sale must be witnessed by a Notary Public, which is a public official in that country. However, you need to have your own legal counsel to protect your own interests during the transaction. 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.
