Buying your Spanish Home

Whether you are looking for off plan property, resale property or cheap property in Spain - the buying process in Spain is much easier than in the UK. The process differs slightly depending on whether you are buying a new property or a resale property.

We strongly recommend that you use a lawyer with experience of Buying Spanish property - preferably an English-speaking Spanish Lawyer. Searches are performed at the Land Registry and a private contract is signed to secure the price of the property. Resale property purchases can take as little as one month to complete. Within 2 months from the date of signing the private agreement, completion must be concluded whereas new property purchases are usually done in stages.

For example:
A private agreement is signed and a non-refundable deposit of 3000 euros is paid, which fixes the price. At the next stage, say 20 - 30 days later,between 20 and 25% of the agreed property value is paid through your lawyer. After approximately 90 days another stage payment of between 10 and 25% of the agreed property value is paid through your lawyer. When the property is built the Completion Date can be arranged and the Notary Deed (Escritura) signed.

You may of course use your own lawyer or you can use the one that we recommend. We would suggest that you don't use the same lawyer as the one being used by the vendor (development or resale). We recommend a law firm called JLCA and As.Lawyers, which is an excellent law firm based in Spain and of course very familiar with the Spanish legal system, JLCA is also a member of the British Spanish Law Association and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain. Have a look at the lawyers web site:

www.jlcalawyers.com