Legal Aspects of Buying Property in
Spain
In the UK, all aspects regarding the purchase of the property
are usually handled by a solicitor. However, in Spain a lawyer will focus only on details such as the charges/embargoes
recorded on the property register and determining whether the
seller is in fact legally authorised to sell the property. The final part of the sale is carried out at a notary's office. However, when it comes to preparation
for purchasing your dream Costa Blanca property, Hamiltons of London will take care of these factors, including
assisting you with finding a English-speaking lawyer, and can also help you in obtaining a mortgage, if this is
a requirement.
Another important
point concerned with buying property in Spain is that debts of previous owners are carried forward to the new owners,
such as unpaid electricity, water bills etc.
Once the property is declared to be legally sound, then a property sale/purchase contract will usually be drawn up. As is common, Hamiltons of London will require a
deposit of 10% to secure the property. As this cannot be usually met right away, an initial deposit of 3000 euros is
payable
to the owner in order to take the property off the market for up to 3 weeks until the final deposit can be transferred. The
Costa Blanca property market attracts a large quantity of buyers, and as a result we will need to confirm you are in
a position to put a deposit down in order to begin viewing our properties. In the contract, an obligatory completion date
will be stated, and the purchaser must meet this deadline or else lose the deposit on the property. The only time that
one of the deposits made will be returned to the property buyer is when the seller does not meet his/her obligations as
stated on the sale/purchase contract.
The seller will then need to produce an escritura (title deed), a nota simple informativa
detailing if the property has any outstanding charges, and to confirm official ownership, an impuesto de bienes
inmuebles (paid local property tax receipt). If you are buying a plot of land, the lawyer will also need to see proof that
a house can be legally built on it. To complete the sale, you will need an NIE (Foreigner Identification Number), which
a gestor (local lawyer) will be able to obtain for you. For more information, see our section on
settling on the Costa Blanca. The final part of the process is carried
out by a notary, an impartial public official. Both parties and the notary will sign the escritura de compraventa, and the keys are
obtained. The notary is unable to verify the accuracy of statements contained in the contracts, and is only present
to ensure that both parties understand the terms on which the property is sold and agree on them. If you are unable
to be in Spain for this final step, you can attribute power of attorney to a person of your trust, preferably to a solicitor
or the property agent.
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