Guide to buying and selling property in Spain

OBJECTIVE OF THE GUIDE

The target of this guide is to show all legal aspects and procedures and fiscal obligations when purchasing a property in Spain, giving in detail all the figures according to the value of your property and our professional fees.

We hope you find this guide useful.

A)The Conveyance. General Guide

STEP 1: THE PLANNING and ANALYSIS.

We believe that we can only advise you correctly when knowing your individual targets, because every person is a different client, with a different aim. The basis of our work is the analysis of each client, giving coverage and security to their interests.

To assist you in a professional way during the purchase we will need to know the following:

The target of your purchase and or investment from the point of use of the property:

  • Private use
  • Holiday
  • Rental
  • Investment

The time scheme which you have thought of to keep your investment in:

  • Short (selling before the Title Deeds).
  • Medium (keeping the property/ies one to three years after completion)
  • Long Term (keeping the property/ies more than three years after completion.)

1.1. We analyse your case and provide legal and financial advice, looking for the best option regarding your investment in Spain: THE BEST LEGAL & TAX PLANNING ADAPTED TO YOUR PORTFOLIO PLAN.(If necessary, we will require contact details of solicitors & accountants in your country in order to complete this aim).

THE POWER OF ATTORNEY

  • We recommend Power of Attorney.

To simplify time and money spent on unnecessary travel and transport, we recommend the granting of power of attorney. This can be done during your first visit to Spain. It is a simple process which can also be done in your home country by filling in the relevant forms which we will send to you if required and arrange it with a notary near to where you live or work. The Power of Attorney allows us to complete on the property on your behalf in case you are unable to attend the Notary Appointment or do not wish to travel to Spain.

  • NIE number.

The NIE is compulsory in Spain, to buy any goods transaction with the Spanish state, it is valid for life, our company manages it by appointment in a short space of time.

  • Open bank account.

In addition, once we have arranged for you to visit the police to obtain your NIE, we will accompany you to an account opening service at a major bank, so that you can then send your funds.

STEP 2: DUE DILIGENCE. 

We represent and protect you throughout the entire purchase process, making sure that the legal and financial aspects are taken care of. We ensure that you will not buy the house with debts or legal problems.

1)    The due diligences process based on:

  • The legal check of the property.
  • The legal check of the town planning situation.
  • The economic check, the absence of debts, charges and/or encumbrances.

2)     We advise on the signing of reservation documents, purchase contracts, reviewing the full  legal compliance to your protection and in accordance with the Spanish Laws.

2.1 Financial advice & mortgage management:

We study, calculate, and manage before the purchase the calculation of taxes and expenses of the possible purchase of your house.

If you ask for a mortgage we will (before completing on your property) compare the mortgage options of three different banks, checking the best rates and if you wish we will advise the best fiscal package for you. You will be advised by professional independent financial advisors and we will help you to find the best financial option for you.

We organise financial aspects such as mortgages, loans, current accounts, credit cards, and other banking services, with a large number of Spanish banks, achieving the best conditions for our clients due to the volume of transactions provided every year. We search and we will find “the best deal”.

If you decide to sell your property before completion we kindly ask you to inform us, because this has legal, fiscal and financial implications, which we will advise you of.

STEP 3: THE NOTARIAL SIGNATURE OF YOUR HOUSE.

  1. On the deed date we attend the notary with you to ensure that everything is correct and we will sign your house by power of attorney if you have given it to us.
  2. We manage and file the taxes on the purchase of your house.
  3. And we finish with the registration of your house in the Land Registry.
  4. Once the transfer procedure has been completed, we will carry out the final settlement of your file and inform you of the result.

B) Will

In order to secure your assets in Spain, we recommend that you MAKE A SPANISH TESTAMENT after the purchase of your property to avoid inheritance problems with the legislation of your country.

C) Insurance

RIDALAW is an accredited insurance broker in various branches such as home, health, death and car insurance. We manage your home insurance, and in the event of any incident we will be the first to resolve it.  For this we recommend, from past experience, that you leave us a set of keys in case the insurance company or workers need to access the property. Sometimes it is useful to give one of the neighbours our telephone number in case they need to contact us to help with any matter relating to their property.

D) Permanent legal and prosecutorial assistance

RIDALAW has prepared for our clients services to cover their legal and fiscal obligations in Spain, representation service packages with fixed annual amounts that include different services so that they do not have to worry about their home in Spain.

We have several Service and Financial Packages we can offer and that you can choose from, which include varying levels of support throughout the year.

Furthermore, we can prepare your individual, annual Income Tax declarations if you are resident or wish to become resident in Spain.

Our company considers that the right planning from the beginning is extremely important, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be here to guide you through the process and help you with any questions you may have.