The legal / contractual side for buying a spanish property falls into 2 parts:
the Preliminary Contract (Contrato privado de compraventa) and
the Completion Contract (Escritura de compraventa).
Preliminary Contract (Contrato privado de compraventa)
Once a price has been agreed with the vendor, both parties will sign a
preliminary private sales contract, a Contrato privado de compraventa.
However, before signing this preliminary sales contract proof that the
vendor owns the property and that it is free of charges should be
requested. In Spain, debts are charged against the property, and any
outstanding mortgage or other secured debts will be passed on to the
purchaser. A 'Nota Simple' can be obtained via your lawyer and will
confirm if a property has any outstanding debts on it.
Once you have established the property is debt free, a private preliminary
sales contract (Contrato privado de compraventa) is drawn up, containing all
the sales details such as a description of the property, purchase price, and
date for completion. At this stage you will be expected to pay a deposit of
between 5% and 15% of the purchase price - the estate agent or lawyer will
hold these funds in a bonded client account. Should you/purchaser decide
not to continue with the purchase, you will loose your deposit, and may be
held/sued for other incurred losses. Should the vendor decide to withdraw
from the sale you are entitled to twice their deposit as compensation.
Final Contract (Escritura de compraventa)
On the completion date, the balance of the purchase price (sales price minus
deposit) and all fees must be payable by the purchaser. The vendor and
purchaser then sign the Escritura de compraventa contract, which is
equivalent to the Deeds of the property. The purchaser is then issued with
the public deed of conveyance (escritura) in front of a Notary Public, and a
copy will then be passed to the tax office and on to the property registry.
The Notary Public in Spain is a public official who will be required to witness
the deed of sale, however expert, independent legal advice should be taken
to protect your own interests.
Note: The information set out above is our interpretation of the various laws and
regulations when purchasing a property in Spain. The detailed information has
been checked by us, so that as far as possible, all information is correct at the
time of publish. However Charterhouse Homes cannot accept liability for any
inaccuracies or change to the information provided.
|
Property Search
------------------ Spanish Property Market
------------------
Contracts - buying property in Spain
