Spanish Property Purchase - Procedures
Before taking possession of your new Spanish Property there are usually 3 stages being
- the initial agreement to buy,
- the contract stage and
- the completion.
Once a sale has been agreed an initial sales contract between the buyer and the seller will need to be prepared. This is typically a fairly standard document which among other things
- identifies the parties (buyer and seller as well as anyone acting on their behalf)
- clearly identifies the property
- states that the property is being sold free of debts and encumberances
- states the price
- gives details of how and where any payments are to be made
- provides details about the payment of the deposit (usually 10% of the agreed price)
- provides a latest date for completion when the balance of the purchase price is to be paid
Once both parties are happy with the contract it is signed and the buyer pays the agreed deposit.
The official contract has to be in Spanish for legal reasons but English, German and French translations are provided as required.
The completion date is usually at least one month after the contract date although it can be longer or shorter if that is the wish of the parties and it is possible for all the paperwork to be checked and presented in this time to the Notary.
At completion time the new escritura (title deed) is signed in front of the Notary and the balance of the money paid. Then this new escritura is registered, just a formality but it takes a few more weeks. Although this is just a formality in the area where we specialise it is in our view an essential step in order to protect the purchaser but not always done by some lawyers, developers and estate agents in Spain and in some cases particularly old ruins in rural areas (which we do NOT sell!) it is not possible.
Return to our introduction about procedures and costs for Spanish Property Sales
Spanish Property Buyers Guide 1
Spanish Property Buyers Guide 2
Spanish Property Sales - Purchase Costs