Advice On Buying Real Estate Property in Spain

Are you thinking of buying a house in Spain?

Have you purchased a property in Spain?

Every buyer of a property in Spain should be aware of the laws and the legal implications of buying real estate in Spain.

Before signing any agreements or contracts you must make sure to ask for the following information:

• A copy of the architect's approval from the local town hall

• a copy of the building license

• A planning certificate (cedula urbanistica)

It is also very important to check with the Spanish Land Registry whether the developers, who are the sellers of the property, are actually the owners of the land and if there are any debts or liens on the property.

You must check with a solicitor before signing any paperwork with the developer(s) as there are many illegal clauses that are sometimes used in the contracts.

In particular you must apply attention to the following:

• The purchase price on the contract must be the final total price, including any VAT

• the AJD tax (Actos Juridicos Documentados) must also be mentioned.

It is not enough to simply mention the built area in the contract, the total useful area must be well specified in any contract.

The contract should also specify a specific completion date.

The contract should also specify that the bank will grant the required bank guarantees for the amounts paid on account.

Spanish law obliges the developers to bank guarantee the advance payment for the property, even though, unfortunately, the usual practice is to ignore this fact. This is extremely dangerous as developers usually ask for 50 percent of the purchase price to be paid up-front. If there was a problem with the building company etc, you would lose your investment.

This is very important to note.

When using a notary or choosing a mortgage company, note that you can choose whoever you wish and it is not compulsory to use the one chosen or recommended by the developer or seller and there is no extra charge for doing this.

If the completion date is not met by the developer or seller, you have the right to cancel the purchase contract or claim compensation.

Acquiring a Property by means of compensation

Inheriting a property from a deceased relative may not be as
easy as you think.

The first thing to do is to check if there was a will registered in Spain or their previous country of residence. If there is a will registered in Spain, this will be easier and you will only need to go to a Spanish public notary, present the relevant documents (death certificate, will, etc) and sign what is called in Spain the Escritura de Adjudicacion de Herencia. Once this deed is signed, this will be forwarded to the Spanish Land Registry and the property will be registered in your name.

If there is no will in Spain, but there is one in another country, the heirs will need to prove the existence of all the heirs, as well as the conditions of the heirs. Again, you will have to sign the inheritance deed before a public notary who will request that all the documents issued by the country of origin are translated into Spanish and legalised bearing the apostil from the Hague Convention.

If there is no will at all, it is necessary to prove before the public notary what the specific probate regulations of the deceased's country of origin are. For example, in your country probate regulations, it may establish that the compulsory heirs are the widower/widow 50 percent and the children 50 percent
and so the notary needs to have written proof (translated into Spanish and legalised) that, this is the case.

Inheritance law varies from one country to another and it is important to know that regardless of the place of death, the law that applies is the law from the deceased person's country (for example, if a British citizen dies, it is British law that applies, even if the death has occurred in Spain). However, what
happens when the deceased had assets in Spain?

If you are a legal heir, there are certain steps to follow if you wish to transfer the assets you have inherited in Spain so that they are in your name.

a) if the deceased has left a will in Spain, you will only have to finalise the estate probate before a Spanish notary. This should be a quick process, unless there is a disagreement between the heirs.

b) if the deceased has left a will in his/her country of origin and not in Spain, this will must be validated in Spain. In order to do that, the notary who is to sign the inheritance deeds will require you to present some very specific paperwork.

c) if the person dies abintestato, that is, he or she has left no will in his/her country, nor in Spain, the estate can be dealt with in Spain before a public notary and again, some very specific paperwork will need to be obtained.

If the different heirs cannot make an agreement, a Spanish judge will decide what is applicable, following the deceased's will and according to Spanish estate law.