Steps to buy housing in Spain

Buying a property in Spain is a dream for many European citizens who wish to settle there or acquire a second home. But the procedures and formalities to be carried out when you are a foreigner can sometimes be scary. Worse still, there can be unpleasant surprises. To ensure that this route ends in complete serenity in the acquisition of the property that suits you in the Costa Brava, discover the essentials of the administrative formalities and the key stages of the purchase.

As a preamble to your property purchase in Spain

Get accompanied:

Language barrier, new and often numerous administrative procedures, to make your property purchase in Costa Brava a success, and to avoid the dramatic consequences of negligence, it is essential to be accompanied by an expert. An advisor who masters both the local market and all the steps to buy your property in Spain will be a guarantee of serenity.

Immo365 supports you with comprehensive services and multilingual speakers :

- partnerships with banks and insurers;

- putting in touch with architects and craftsmen for your work;

- provision of lawyers to act on your behalf in official procedures.

Get your NIE:

This is the foreign identification number. It is a legally binding document in Spain for foreigners from the European Union who want to carry out administrative procedures in the country. Access to property is therefore part of it.

Be careful, you have to go there to get it. You can make an appointment online, must provide a certain number of supporting documents depending on your situation and pay a fee of approximately 1 2 €. Be aware of the deadlines which can be several weeks if you add up the waiting time to have the appointment and then to receive the paper. Also remember to ask for a NIE for each of the people involved in the acquisition of the property.

Open a bank account in Spain:

This step is not compulsory but highly recommended. It will be very useful for you to have a bank account in Spain. You can transfer the funds necessary for the purchase to this account. In case of payment by cashier's check, it will be easier to have everything locally.

Subsequently to settle your current invoices related to the property (taxes, charges, water, electricity ...), the bank account in Spain will also be practical. It will simplify debits for transactions to a foreign account are longer and sometimes generate fra additional est.

To open a bank account in Spain, all you need is a copy of your identity card. This operation can now be done remotely, via e-mail , with certain banks.

Once you have chosen your property in Costa Brava

The checks:

Now that you have chosen a property for your real estate purchase in Costa Brava, and before finalizing the sale, it is your responsibility to check the conformity of the documents (building permit, habitability certificate ...). In Spain, notaries do not carry out this type of verification at all. The buyer is solely responsible for his purchase.

To check the essential points, get the "simple note" of the property. This document gathers several pieces of information: identity of the current owner, origin of the property, existence of charges, easements, mortgages or even foreclosures. You can request it from the land register ( registro de la propriedad ) on site or online.

To anticipate your future charges, do not hesitate to chat with the seller and ask him for the latest property taxes, statements of charges for co-ownership, as well as the latest water and electricity bills.

Finally, to be certain that the property is ready to be lived in, the seller must provide you with a certificate of habitability.

The reservation :

The " reserva " in Spanish. Once you have found the desired well, you can make an offer for the well via this contract e n awaiting the compromise sale .

The price offer includes the payment of a small sum in euros which will be returned to you if the offer is not accepted by the owner. If the offer is accepted the sum will be a deposit of the agreed price and the owner will withdraw its good from the sale                                    

This step is optional, but it gives you time to check the official documents. You can also include reservations that will allow you to exit the contract at no cost if necessary.

The sale agreement ( contrato de compraventa )

 This step is also called a promise to sell in Spain. This contract specifies all the conditions of the offer (price, contact details of the two parties, deposits already paid, suspensive clauses, maximum date for signing the authentic instrument, etc.)

Generally, you will have to pay a deposit when signing the sales agreement. The sum is in general with of 10% of the sale price. If you have already paid money during the " reserva ", the amount will be deducted. Attention, because in case of withdrawal from your part, the deposit will not be returned to you. 

The act of sale (escritura pública ):

The authentic deed of sale will officially conclude the sale of the property. This contract is signed before a notary, in the presence of all the parties concerned. The role of the notary is to legally validate the contract.

When signing, you will have to pay the remaining balance. You will then leave with the notarial act and especially the keys to the property!