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Property Spain - Legal Advice by Manzares International Lawyers

To protect your interests, and to assure you that all the legal guarantees for when buying property in Spain and all Spanish legal requirements are met.

The process for buying property in Spain has three steps,

• the first and most important step being the Reservation of the Property.
• the next step is to sign the Private Contract.
• the third and final step is Completion.

Reservation of a Spanish property

When you have found the Spanish property you wish to buy, in order to have the option to purchase it, we must take it off the market. You need to pay a holding deposit, which we pay to the current owner who has to sign a document, in which he gives you the option to buy the property.

After the first step has been taken care of, your solicitor will carry out all the necessary searches and investigations of the property with the relevant authorities in order to ensure that the property you are purchasing is in a perfect legal condition and free from any charges, debts or encumbrances.

In the case of a new property, they will ensure that the constructors are reputable and solvent and will obtain guarantees that the property will be constructed and delivered according the agreed terms and conditions.

In the event that your solicitor should find any abnormalities with the property in question, the reservation deposit will be refunded to the buyer. If the property has a problem you will get your money back before the signing of the Private Contract.

As soon as your solicitor confirms that the property is in perfect legal situation you move to the next step.

Private contract

Once the searches are complete, and your Spanish solicitor is absolutely certain the property is legally declared to be in the best condition to purchase; a Private Contract is drafted and signed by both parties.

This private contract sets out all the details of the agreement, payment terms and Completion Date. During this stage you will be required to put down a non-fundable deposit less the holding deposit already paid at the reservation stage.

Completion

Completion on the purchase of the property takes place in the presence of a Spanish Notary, when the buyer and the seller sign the Title Deeds (Escritura de Compraventa) of the property.

The Notary is an official of the State, his duty is to certify that the contract has been signed, and that the purchaser and seller have been advised of their tax obligations. He is the person that makes sure that all the legal requirements are in place and that the Completion monies are paid.

If you are not able to be in Spain for completion, your property lawyer can make arrangements to sign the Title Deeds on your behalf. This procedure involves processing a Power of Attorney document which can be done during your next visit to Spain, or alternatively through your own Solicitor in Britain or Ireland.

Title deeds and registration of your property

Once the completion process has been finalised and you have become the owner of the property in question, the solicitor then proceed to register the property at the Land Registry office so that you will appear as the new legal owner. The Land Registry will notify us as soon as the Deeds are available for collection, which normally takes place between two and three months after the signing of the Deeds.