Youve found the house and negotiated a price. Youve arranged your Spanish mortgages All there is to do now is complete the purchase. How?

In Spain, the process of purchasing Spanish property is regulated, and the best thing that you can do to protect your interests is to employ an English-speaking solicitor or lawyer to assist you. You will want to make sure that the Spanish property you are purchasing is free of restrictive clauses and debts.

The legal process for purchasing property located in Spain falls under two types of transactions. First you have the Contrato privado de compraventa, or the preliminary contract, and then you have the Escritura de compravents, or completion contract.

A preliminary individual sale bill should be signed after both sides agree to the cost. Before this Contrato privado de compraventa has been signed, however, the vendor needs to be able to provide proof that he or she owns the property, and that it is free of any charges. Debts are charged to the property themselves in Spain, and any outstanding mortgage amount would then be passed on to the purchaser. Nota Simple documents were developed to validate if a property has an outstanding debts.

The preliminary sales contract will be drawn up to contain all of the necessary details including the date of completion, the purchase price and the description of the property. At this point you will also be more than likely required to pay a deposit of between 5 percent and 15 percent of the purchase price. This money shall be held in escrow for your benefit. It is possible though not advisable to sign the private preliminary sales contract without putting down a deposit.

The Escritura de compraventa stage, is the second or final contract stage. The purchaser will be required to pay the balance of the purchase price and all fees on the date of completion. The buyer and seller will meet to finalize the deal with a contract, which is the same as a deed on the property. The purchaser will receive the public deed of conveyance, known in Spain as the escritura, in front of a Notary Public. A copy of this deed will also be passed to the tax office and to the property registry as well to make everything legal. In Spain, Notary Publics are public officials required to witness a deed of sale, but you should also make sure to have your own independent expert legal advice to make sure that your own interests are protected during this legal process. Also keep in mind that as the purchaser you will be required to pay property sales taxes as well as the legal fees for the Notary Public.