Property Conveyance
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Property Conveyance. Foreigners' Assistance in Spain.
At CYCLO we offer legal assistance in the sale and purchase of land and properties. Our recommendation is that you should always have legal representation in such dealings for your own protection. It is important that the contracts and other standard documents in such transactions are examined by a professional safeguarding your interests.
A simplified outline of the most significant and usual steps in the process of purchasing a property is presented below, although it should be pointed out that some of the steps referred may not be required, except the appointment at the Notary Office, which is essential in order to perform the transaction:
Once you have found a property which you wish to purchase you pay a deposit; no fixed sum is established, although it is generally around € 3000 - € 6000. This is simply a formal confirmation of your desire to purchase the property. It is normally paid to the estate agent who located the property, or in the absence of such a figure, directly to the owner. Right at this initial stage we advise that you employ the services of a professional to inspect the documentation before making this first payment: sequestered or illegal properties could lead to the purchase being non-viable from the onset.
At this second step it is highly recommended that you hire a lawyer to inspect all the necessary documentation, to ascertain that the property in question is free of any encumbrances and debts, and to draw up and/or inspect the private purchase agreement or purchase option, ensuring that all conditions agreed between the vendor and the purchaser are fulfilled. At this stage purchasers would be expected to hand over around 10% of the sale price, which must always be paid to the vendor or a legal representative, who must hold power of attorney executed before a notary. In other words, any estate agent involved would be excluded from this process.
On the date agreed to conclude the transaction, both parties attend the Notary Office with their respective legal representatives. The purpose is to execute and sign a public deed of sale and purchase. This deed includes details such as mortgages, if there are any current tenants at the property, that the property is free of liens and encumbrances, who pays the charges and taxes, etc., and represent the point of transfer of ownership, in other words the point at which the purchaser takes possession and receives the keys to the property purchased.
The taxes involved in the transaction must then be paid (see "All Taxes") and the sale and purchase registered in the corresponding Land Register.
The charges and taxes to be paid will depend on many factors: if you require a mortgage, if you agreed to pay the so-called 'plusvalía', or gains tax, whether the property you purchased was newbuild, etc. However, purely as a very rough estimate, the costs involved in Andalusia would amount to the following figures, without including the fees of a professional adviser or the gains tax:
- Previously occupied property without mortgage ………… approx. 7.35%
- Newbuild property without mortgage ……………………..approx. 8.35%
In the case of a mortgage, the following approximate sums would be added:
- Mortgage ……………………………………….... approx. 2.05% of the value of the mortgage requested, excluding the arrangement and valuation fees.
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