Property Law

The process of buying a house in Spain

Once you have made the big decision of acquiring a property in Spain, it is very convenient to hire the services of a lawyer who will be the one dealing with the legal aspects surrounding the entire buying/selling process.

The process will normally involve 5 different steps: 1. Preparing the contract of sale; 2. Checking that the property is free of debts and any other charges; 3. Drawing up and signing the deed before the Notary; 4. Registration of the transmission of the property in the Civil Registry; 5. Payment of taxes.

  1. Preparing the Contract of Sale

We will prepare the pre-contract agreement for the acquisition of your future property. From a legal perspective, we will make sure that the contract includes all the necessary clauses which suit your interests. This contract will be the first step through the completion of the buying process. It is important to highlight that normally this contract includes the payment of a deposit to guarantee the acquisition of the property. This deposit will be used as an advanced payment of the final price.

  1. Checking that the property is free of debts and any other charges

Before buying a new house, it is paramount to check that the property does not have any debt or any other charges attached to it. We will review whether the Community, local tax, and any other bills attach to the property have been paid.

  1. Drawing up and signing the deed before the Notary

We will manage all the process of drawing up the deed and getting an appointment with the Notary. In order to complete the process, both parties should attend to a Notary for signing the deed. As of this moment, the property is legally transmitted from the seller to the buyer. However, this is not the end of the process. The cost of the Notary will normally be around 1 % of the final price of the value of the property.

  1. Registration of the transmission of the property in the Civil Registry

After the signing of the deed, there is a deadline of a month to register the transmission into the correspondent Civil Registry.  The cost of the Registry will normally be around 1% of the final price of the value of the property.

  1. Payment of taxes.

Along with the registration in the Civil Registry, there is a 1 month time to pay the taxes attached to the transmission of the property. The cost of the tax for transmissions of properties is 8 % of the value of the house.