The Map Magazine

Once youve chosen your ideal property and found a Spanish mortgage how do you go about completing the purchase?

Buying property in Spain is highly regulated. The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your money is to hire an English-speaking lawyer or legal counsel to help you during the purchase and negotiation. Validate that the Spanish property you plan to purchase is free of restrictive clauses and debts.

The legal process for purchasing property located in Spain falls under two types of transactions. First you have the Contrato privado de compraventa, or the preliminary contract, and then you have the Escritura de compravents, or completion contract.

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. The purchaser must pay the debts of their property as part of their %LINK2% agreement. Nota Simple determins which properties contain overdue debts.

Details such as completion date, price and description will be written in the first sales contract. At this point you will also be more than likely required to pay a deposit of between 5 percent and 15 percent of the purchase price. 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 Escritura de compraventa stage, is the second or final contract stage. The purchaser will be required to pay the balance of the purchase price and all fees on the date of completion. The buyer and seller will meet to finalize the deal with a contract, which is the same as 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. A photocopy of the deed will be provided to the tax official and property registrat to ensure everything is legitimate. 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. Part of the fees for purchasing include property tax, and legal fees for your Notary Public.