Before purchasing any property you must obtain an NIE (numero de identificación extranjero) if non-resident or NIF (numero de identificación fiscal) if you wish to become resident in Spain, to order to complete the legal paperwork for buying. It will also help in opening an account for the transfer of purchase funds.

Once you have found a suitable property, instruct your solicitor to start the legal process to purchase the property. Do not sign anything with the vendor or agent until the solicitor instructs you to. There may de debts or registered charges that affect the property and you will become liable for them as soon as you sign a purchase agreement. Using a solicitor will ensure that they are discharged before completion.

The solicitor needs to check the following paperwork.

There are two land registrars – one national Registro de la Propiedad for recording each property and one local from the town hall (Referencia Catastral) for local taxation. Since 1997 the Referencia Catastral is the default reference.

Obtainable from the vendor of the property. MAKE SURE that this refers to both the land and property. This is a historical document. It does not show if the property has changed hands or any debt on the property. (Please note that the property may not have been registered to avoid taxes or debts, which will become liable on registration. It may also be a private contract that has never been notarised and put into the public domain).

Obtainable from the Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) to verify the owner of the property and any of debts registered against the property. In Spain all debts, charges or court orders are registered against the property rather than the person. These include mortgages (hipotecas), ground rent or leasehold payments (censos), interests in the property (usufructos), restrictions on use (limitaciones), fines (multas), determinations i.e. decisions about the future of the property (cláusulas resolutorias), or court orders for distraint or seizure (embargos). Also gives a property description and dimensions.

Also obtainable from the Property Registry. Similar to the Simple Note, except that the Director of the Register, accepts responsibility for the information given. However it is more expensive.

Obtainable from the town hall. This contains the only legally valid description of the property and is a register of assessed property values for tax purposes. It has two parts, one being a description in words of the property and the other being a graphic representation, either a plan or an aerial photo. It is very cheap but can take up to 2 months to be delivered.

Whereas the Registro de la Propiedad is concerned with ownership, the Catastro is concerned with the property.

When there are description differences between the Registro de la Propiedad and the Catastro, it is the latter that is normally correct. Your lawyer should always compare this Catastro with the description in the Property Register certificate and the escritura to ensure that there is no difference.

Obtainable from the vendor. You need copies of the payment receipts to the town hall. It will show the property's catastral reference number (Referencia Catastral) and the official assessed value of the property (Valor Catastral)). This is very important because various taxes are based on it. If you cannot get the last 5 copies of it you may be liable for the last 5 years taxes.

Obtain copies of the Community Owners Rules and the Minutes of the most recent community meeting. This is applicable to all new developments and most urbanizaciones, apartment blocks and complexes.

Check there are no outstanding fees. A certificate must be issued on whether a property has any debt before that property can be sold The law makes the buyer liable for the unpaid fees of the present year and the preceding year.

Upon purchase you will automatically become a member and will be bound by their rules and covenents. For example if it is prohibited to keep pets in the building on the estate, you will have real problems keeping your dogs for example.

Therefore please read or have the regulations translated.

Get your lawyer to verify with Urbanismo, the town planning office that there are no other developments planned nearby that could affect your new property or spoil your view in the future even if you overlook a “green” zone.

Ask the lawyer to investigate any likely problems relating to the LRAU (Valencian Land Grab Law), or if he aware of similar measures being enacted in your region.

Appoint a surveyor (Agrimensor) to verify the accurate measurements of the property. Property sales are based on the concept of "cuerpo cierto" meaning that you are buying the property as it is, and not as stated and you will not be able to claim, after the purchase contract is signed, if you find the property has less square metres.

Ask the lawyer to check if there are tenants in the property. The new buyer is obliged by law to honour the tenancy agreement. Check the law relating to rents as it is very difficult to remove tenants.

There may also be other debts not registered in the property register, so ask your lawyer should also check with the relevant authorities, including Hacienda (Ministry of Finance), the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall), and the Recaudación Provincial (Provincial Rates Office), that these have been paid. Get copies of the owner's paid up bills for electricity, water, rubbish collection and the telephone so that you can take over the services and ensure there is no debt.

Your solicitor should report to you in writing with the results of his findings, explaining all the significant points.

This consists of two contracts:-

A private contract between the buyer and the vendor.

The public contract is the placement of the private contract into the public domain. This will be the Title Deed which will be witnessed by the Notary at completion and passed to the Land Registry for registration.

There may also be pre-contracts depending on the transaction. Please discuss with your solicitor.

There also exist a number of pre contracts where it is not legally binding to finally purchase the property.

An option contract or an exclusivity contract is a non-binding contract where the vendor gives the buyer an option to buy a property under fixed conditions (price, state of property etc.) and for a fixed amount of time. This type of contract will normally cost the buyer a fee to reserve the right to buy the property.

The reservation contract is a simple form of private contract and is used to give the buyer time enough to get the outstanding 10%, to pay in deposit in a private contract after a small down payment. This can be used when there is a short time span between signing the reservation contract and the public contract, bypassing the need to sign a full private contract.

The next step is for your Lawyer to draw up a private contract between you the buyer and the seller. The private contract will contain all the negotiated agreement's made between you the buyer and seller.

The contract should contain the following facts;-

The agreed purchase price. Do not agree to show a lower figure in the contract, as this can cause tax and legal problems in the future. Make sure that any registered charges are to be fully discharged at completion and show these provisions if you decide to carry on with the vendor’s registered mortgage or debt. In this case, the contract should state that the existing mortgage amount or debt that will be deducted from the purchase price.

The address of the property.

The description of the property.

The agreed date for completion.

An itemized list of any furniture, fittings agreed in the sale.

Any details regarding the communal associations rules and regulations, all annual fees, relating to the apartment you are buying, a copy of the deed showing the division of your apartment, and the communal association statement showing it to be free from debts.

The amount of the deposit payable at the time of signing the contract.

When you sign the private contract with the seller you normally pay a deposit (arras) or a bank guarantee of 10% of the agreed purchase price. This can vary i.e. the amount reduced if the property has been on the market a long time.

This is provision that if the buyer then fails to complete he will lose the deposit. Similarly if the vendor fails to complete then he will have to return double the amount received.

Alternatively, it can be agreed that neither party will be able to pull out of the contract without the other party´s consent, therefore making each other liable to complete. If one of the parties then fails to complete, there will be a breach of contract .The counter-party can sue the other for damages. However taking the matter to court is a long complicated legal procedure in Spain.

Your solicitor can recommend the best choice.

An appointment with the notary should be made by your lawyer a few weeks beforehand. The Notary is acting as a Government witness and takes care that the purchase deed terms and conditions comply with Spanish formalities.

On the day of completion all parties concerned meet at the nearest Notary Public Office for the signing of all documents relating to the transfer of the property.

The notary should have a new Nota Simple confirming that the ownership and debt details have not changed since the previous contract.

If everything is correct both parties should sign the Transfer Deed (Escritura) which will be countersigned by the Notary.

The buyer then hands over the balance of the sales price via a cheque and the seller releases the keys gives vacant possession of the property.

The notary should file the new inscription at the Property Register immediately by fax, as any unpaid debts for which a court has imposed an embargo (seizure order) can be registered against the property at any time.

If the embargo is registered after your last check, and before your inscription is registered, the creditor will have a claim to your property which ranks ahead of yours and which will enable him to force the sale of your property to repay the debt.

The notary will give you a signed copy (copia simple) at this stage.

After completion, the original Title Deed (Escritura) is submitted to the Land Registry for inscription (to have the property transfer registered). Registration of the title is normally takes a few months. This service should be included in the Notary’s fee. When you will receive back the original escritura, it will now be a public deed (Escritura Publica), which is the official statement of ownership of the property.

Payment of fees and taxes, and the 5% deposit to Tax Office (Hacienda) if you are buying from a non-resident, using the Form 211 within 30 days.

Remember, the seller is supposed to pay the Plus Valia and the Notary.

Keep a receipt of all the payments and request a completion statement of accounts from the Notary.

Inform the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) and the community of owners of the change of ownership.

Change all the utility contracts into your name.

Fire insurance is compulsory by law when taking out a mortgage.

Life insurance should be taken out to guarantee payment of the mortgage loan in the case of death.

Comprehensive household insurance is available to protect your home and contents.