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Legal  step by step:

 The most important advice we can give you is to ALWAYS use the services of a lawyer. Spanish property laws are complex and an experienced lawyer will not only save you time, but will probably save you money also. They should also have insurance cover in case things go really wrong! As well as the time and money savings, using a lawyer when buying means that you will be reducing the possibility of any problems in the future relating to your property rights. 

When you find the property you want, your lawyer will take all the steps that are necessary for you BUT, if you don’t have a lawyer, you must do the following:

Police:

Once you know that you intend to buy a property anywhere in Spain, you will need to go to the local Police station and apply for a ‘certificado de no-residencia’. After a few days they will issue you with an official document with your own registration number - you need this document for several things.

Bank:

When you have your registration number you will be able to open a non-residents bank account. We recommend that you check with your own bank at home to see if they have any relationship with a Spanish bank as this makes money transfer and other aspects much easier to control. Most banks have some kind of agreement with overseas banks, e.g. Banco Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Register:

Take the full name of the owner of the property and go to the land registry to obtain a ‘Nota Simple’, which takes about two days to be processed. This is VERY IMPORTANT as it will show you if there are any charges, mortgages or embargoes on the property. 

You must remember that any outstanding debt tied to a property is related to the PROPERTY and not the owner. If you buy a property which shows charges or outstanding mortgages on the register - YOU become responsible for the debts. 

If the Nota simple does not state quite clearly ‘Sin Cargas’ - DO NOT BUY IT until you have spoken to lawyer - they may be able to resolve the issue for you.

After you are satisfied that the property exists legally is not encumbered with any debts or embargoes, you must then enter into an agreement with the seller and sign a simple contract. This legal document is FULLY binding to both seller and buyer. 

You pay an agreed amount as a deposit which is given to the seller (Very often in currency) If the buyer pulls out of the agreement, the seller keeps the deposit paid. If the seller pulls out they must pay back the deposit PLUS any percentage that is agreed when you sign the simple contract, normally the 100% plus and always this percentage if is not any specification. The higher the deposit is the less likely that the seller will stop proceedings because they have found someone who will give a higher price. 

The simple contract that you sign will give time scales for the payment of the outstanding portion of the price. This gives you time to arrange the transfer of finance.

Notaria:

When the closing date arrives you must obtain a confirmed cheque from the local bank and, together with the seller, go the office of the NOTARIA and compete the legal proceedings to change the property into your name. The seller is legally bound to produce documentation to show that all debts have been paid (electricity, water, telephone and so on).

The above steps are only a brief outline of what is involved and most of these stages can be difficult. Again we stress the importance of a LAWYER!