Youve found the house and negotiated a price. Youve arranged your Spanish mortgages All there is to do now is complete the purchase. How?
It is in your best interest to hire an English-speaking lawyer to assist you in the process of purchasing regulated Spanish property. Make sure that the Spanish property is free of restrictive clauses and debts.
There are two different categories in the Spanish legal processes for the purchase of property. First you have the preliminary contract, or Contrato privado de compraventa, and then you have the completion contract, or Escritura de compraventa.
Once both parties have agreed to the price, then a preliminary private sales contract should be signed. The vendor must provide proof that he or she owns the property free of any charges before this Contrato privado de compraventa has been signed. 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.
The preliminary sales contract will be drawn up to contain all of the necessary details including the date of completion, the purchase price and the description of the property. Expect to pay a deposit that ranges between 5 and 15 percent of the purchase price. This money is held for you in a secure customer account. You can sign the private preliminary sales contract and not put down a deposit but it is not advised.
The ultimate stage is the decond stage only as it will decide the future of the contract. It is also known as Escritura de compraventa stage. The purchaser will be required to pay the balance of the purchase price and all fees on the date of completion. Next, the seller and buyer meet and sign a contract, which is essentially a claim to the property. Also known in Spain as the escritura, the purchaser will received this deed which is usually in front of a Notary Public. A copy of this deed will also be passed to the tax office and to the property registry as well to make everything legal. If you are in Spain, a Notary Public will be required as a witness on you deed of sale. Don’t just rely in that, though. You will want to have your own lawyer to keep your best interests foremost throughout the proceeeding. 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.
