The buying process in Spain

Here’s a quick guide to the process. At the appropriate time, we can discuss any aspect of this in detail with you.

In this section, we'll talk about:

The Reservation Deposit

Choosing Your Lawyer

Searches, Checks and Diligence

Private Purchase Contract

Stage Payments

Completion

Fees and Taxes

The Reservation Deposit

Once you’ve found your dream home in the sun, you pay a reservation deposit of typically €3,000 to €5,000. This fixes the price that you will pay and removes the property from the open market.

Appointing a Lawyer

You need to appoint a lawyer and it's important that you use one who understands Spanish conveyancing law. We can introduce you to several if you don't have one sorted out yourself. Your lawyer has 28 days to undertake all the necessary searches, legal checks and to agree/draw up a contract.

Searches and Checks

This includes checking that all the building consents and licences are in place; searches/checks at the local municipality to check the title; checks to ensure the property is free of debt and encumbrances, etc.

You’ll also need your own Spanish fiscal identification number known as an NIE (Numero de Indentificación Extranjero). Your lawyer will obtain this for you as part of their service but you can do it yourself if you speak a bit of Spanish. Another option is to employ a Gestor to do this for you.

But quite frankly, it's much easier to let your lawyer deal with this - unless you're keen to immerse yourself in Spanish bureaucracy as soon as possible!

Private Purchase Contract

Once the lawyer is happy with everything, a private contract is drawn up (about four weeks after lodging your reservation deposit). When you sign the contract, you will pay the first stage payment which is typically 30% of the purchase price.

Your lawyer will explain everything about the contract to you and make sure you understand what you will have to pay and when each payment becomes due.

With resale properties, completion is normally targeted for about 28 day’s time but, by agreement, this can be shorter or longer.

Stage Payments

With properties that are still to be constructed, a schedule of further stage payments will have been agreed, with the final balance due on completion.

Briefly, here are the various stage payments:

Reservation Deposit - €3,000 - €5,000
First Stage Payment - 30% paid after 30 days
Further Stage Payments - as agreed with the constructor.
The Balance plus fees, taxes - on completion

Completion

Completion takes place in front of a Notary (a state official) who makes sure that everything is completed correctly from a legal standpoint. Both buyer and vendor sign the contract (Escritura de Compraventa).

If you prefer, you can give your lawyer Power of Attorney so that he can complete and sign the paperwork on your behalf.

Be aware - the Notary is not a substitute for having your own lawyer. The Notary’s job is just to check that that, from a legal point of view, everything is in place and the contract and transfer of property conforms to the Spanish law.

He's not there to advise or point out clauses that may not be in your favour. This is the job of your lawyer so it's vital that you employ one to safeguard yourself and your money.

Following completion, the lawyer registers the new ownership with the Land Registry and a title deed for the property will be issued in your name. This can take several months.

Don’t forget that it would be prudent to make sure you have adequate building and contents insurance cover in place ready for when you take legal possession.

And, if you have a mortgage, organise life assurance, too.
Whether you buy a detached property or, say, an apartment, the property will be freehold. You will own the property and the land it stands on – or a share of the land it stands on for apartments, townhouses, etc.

Fees and Taxes

Our property prices are quoted excluding VAT - 7%.

Your remaining taxes and fees will likely be in the range of 5% of the purchase price, Here's a quick breakdown of what you can expect:

Stamp Duty :	0.5%
Property tax :	0.5%
Land registry fees:	Approx 0.5%
Notary fees:	Fixed by law and depends upon size and price of property eg. 150K - 600K it will be 600€
Lawyers fees	Approx 1% of the purchase price

Side note – talk to your lawyer about revising or making a new will. Foreign property ownership, a possible change of domicile and different laws on succession may have implications for you and your descendants. You could potentially need two wills, one for Spain and one for assets elsewhere.