Spanish Property for sale
Our Agencies will ensure your purchase goes through without problems.
1. It will be necessary for you to have a Tax Identification number to purchase a property; it is sufficient at the time of purchasing your property to have put in place the steps to acquire such a number. In Spain each person is assigned a tax identification number (NIE) which must be used on all communications addressed to the Tax authorities.
In general the NIF of a Spanish national is their National Identification Number (DNI), in the case of foreign nationals the NIE is their Foreign Identification Number (NIE). These identification numbers are issued by the Directorate General of the Police, our agencies will able to assist you with obtaining your NIE to purchase your property.
You now have to apply in person for NIE certificates - our professional staff will accompany you. This service, along with opening a bank account is free to our clients.
2. Once a price has been agreed between, purchaser and vendor, both parties should sign a contract; Contrato privado de compraventa, this is provided by the selling agent and sets down the details of the exact location of the property, the price agreed, name of the vendor or the vendor's representative and the name of the purchaser or the purchaser's reprentative and finally the date of completion, which can be as quick as 5 days to approximately 3 months.
There are conditions attached to the contract which stipulate that should the prospective purchaser fail to complete, the deposit is lost and also should the vendor fail to complete the deposit is refunded to the purchaser. In Spain, oral contracts have the same validity as written contracts.
3. A deposit of 10%; of the purchase price is usually requested by the estate agent and this is held in a bonded clients account.
4. The legalities are dealt with by a notary; this is a public official who is assigned to deal with both the requirements of the purchaser and the vendor. The notary checks at the time of the completion that the property is not encumbered with debt, because in Spain debts are attached to property and in extreme cases it could be that outstanding mortgages are passed on to the purchaser.
5. It is necessary to have an independent translator at the notary; if your Spanish is limited, to ensure that you understand completely, all that is being explained.
6. The balance of the purchase price has to be paid on the day of signing at the notary; the purchaser and the vendor sign the Escritura de Compraventa. This sum should be paid in the form of a bank transfer from your Spanish bank account to the seller’s bank account or a certified cheque drawn on a Spanish bank, you cannot use an International draft drawn on a UK bank, and cash is not an option.
7. Taxes; these need to be paid within one month of signing at the notary, but in general the notary will ask for your bank details and the appropriate taxes (once they have been calculated) will be debited by the notary.