Buying in Spain
Decided to buy a Spanish property? Here’s what you should know.
Firstly – Congratulations! You’ve had a price agreed on a property you love. So, from a legal perspective – what happens next? This post will help you to understand the process of buying a property in Spain.
If you have found a new place and need legal support to help with the purchase in Spain – or just have any questions, please give us a call today on 0845 508 2395, or (+34) 951 203 094 if you’re calling from Spain.
After the price has been agreed…
Once you have agreed a price for the purchase of the property, your lawyer will contact both the agent and the seller’s lawyer for the property documents, typically asking for the following information:
- Escritura (deeds) for the property
- Town hall rates – known as the ibi
- Water & electricity receipts
- Inventory of furniture
- Licence of first occupation
- If buying on an urbanisation, receipts from the community for community fees
- Minutes of general meetings for the community for the last three years
- If any extensions have been made to the property?
- That all of the property is registered at the land registry?
What happens next?
Once this information has been gained, a lawyer should then apply for a land search in English & Spanish, so you can check the description of the property. After this, the catastral value of the property would be checked – to see if the market value is below the property value. This will help to avoid any potential future tax bill.
With My Lawyer in Spain, you would receive a legal report about the property, which – once approved, we can exchange contracts for you. Typically at this point, a balance of 10% is paid to the sellers, and a date is set for completion.
Your lawyer will arrange a power of attorney for you, which can be signed in Spain or your home country – whichever is the most convenient. With the power of attorney on your behalf, we can open a bank account for you and apply for your NIE number (Spanish tax numbers which we use to pay the property purchase taxes).
When it comes to completion, this happens with a notary at his office. The rest of the purchase price is paid over and in return the seller or his solicitor will pass over the keys – and you become the brand new owner of your property in Spain.
What should you do after completion?
At completion (or soon afterwards), we would recommend that you sign Spanish wills. It is highly advisable to have a Spanish will as you now own Spanish assets. Any good lawyer will recommend this to you.
After completion, your lawyer would collect the deed, pay the notary fees and taxes, and will register the property in your name.
And that’s it. The property is yours! Enjoy – and contact us if you need legal or taxation support later on!
So hopefully you have found this post useful. If you need support because you are buying a property in Spain or if you need other forms of legal advice, please contact one of our experts, many of whom are native English speakers on 0845 508 2395, or (+34) 951 203 094 if you’re calling from Spain. We have offices in Marbella, Almeria, Murcia, Alicante, Valencia and Torrox and look forward to hearing from you soon.
