You’ve found the house and negotiated a price. You’ve arranged your mortgage in Spain. All there is to do now is complete the purchase. How?

In Spain, the process of purchasing Spanish property is regulated, and the best thing that you can do to protect your interests is to employ an English-speaking solicitor or lawyer to assist you. Be certain there are no debts or restrictions on the property you plan to purchase.

Find a Solicitor that can thoroughly research the Spanish property that you are interested in purchasing as well as someone that can provide you with a Nota Simple, rather than simply relying upon an estate agency or a friend’s word for assistance. Verify that the solicitor you choose has the capablity to check that the vendor is the true owner in the property’s registry as well as whether or not there are any outstanding mortgages .

There are two different categories in the Spanish legal processes for the purchase of property. The first legal document is the preliminary contract, known as Contrato privado de compraventa, and the second is the completion contract, known as Escritura de compraventa.

There should be a preliminary private sales contract signed once you have both agreed on a purchase price. The vendor needs to be able to provide proof that he or she owns the property, and that it is free of any charges, Before this Contrato privado de compraventa will be signed. The purchaser must pay the debts of their property as part of their Spanish Mortgages agreement. Nota Simple documents were developed to validate if a property has an outstanding debts.

The preliminary sales contract will be drawn up to contain all of the necessary details including the date of completion, the purchase price and the description of the property. Expect to pay a deposit that ranges between 5 and 15 percent of the purchase price. This money is held for you in a secure customer account. You can sign the private preliminary sales contract and not put down a deposit but it is not advised.

Escritura de compraventa is otherwise known as the second or final contract stage. The purchaser will be required to pay the balance of the purchase price and all fees on the date of completion. The buyer and seller will meet to finalize the deal with a contract, which is the same as a deed on the property. The purchaser will receive the public deed of conveyance, known in Spain as the escritura, in front of a Notary Public. In order for everything to be legal a copy of the deed will have to go through the tax office and property registry. In Spain, all deeds of sale must be witnessed by a Notary Public, which is a public official in that country. However, you need to have your own legal counsel to protect your own interests during the transaction. While buying any property do remember that property sales taxes and legal fees for the Notary Public is also to be paid by you only.