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Los Gigantes property buyers guide
Buying a property in Spain is possibly quite different from what you might have experienced before. This guide answers the questions which we are most often asked and we hope it will help you.
All the property we offer for sale is freehold. Each comes with a full, legal title, and is transferred to you free of any debts, charges, encumbrances or liens. When you are viewing a property we seek to give you as much information as you need, so that you can make a fully informed decision before agreeing to buy. (In exceptional circumstances your property might be leasehold, but we will advise you of this when viewing). Once you decide on a property, we will ask for a deposit, normally of ten per cent. At this point we will also ask you to sign a private contract of purchase/sale. This is your receipt for the deposit which you have paid; it states that you agree to proceed with the purchase within a stipulated period and also binds the seller to the same agreement. The rest of the monies i.e. 90%, are payable on the signing of the new title deed in your name. Normally this takes place between one to two months later, here in Tenerife. You do not have to be here for the signing and if you cannot, we will give you instructions for preparing a power of attorney. This is a legal document which will allow us to proceed with the purchase in your absence, but it must be signed by yourself in front of a Notary in your home country and posted to us. About half of our clients prefer to return to Tenerife to be at the signing and about half are unable to because of work commitments. However, we can work as fast as you want and have all the paperwork prepared within one week if necessary! The signing is done before a Notary. He is a government appointee, whose job is to oversee the signing over of the new deed and to make sure the paperwork is in order.
It is also, most importantly, his job to carry out a legal search at the Land Register (Registro de la Propiedad) of the property which you are buying. This will reveal if there are any debts, charges or encumbrances against the property and will also tell you who are the legal titleholders of the property. This search is carried out between 24 and 48 hours before the signing, to ensure that the information is valid and correct. The purchaser must be informed of the result of the search before signing. If you do not speak Spanish the title deed will be translated to you and through the translator, you will be able to ask questions of the Notary. Purchasing a property also involves legal costs which you will need to calculate on top of the agreed purchase price of your property. Within two weeks of signing the new title deed the Notary will request payment for his services and also the payment of the purchase tax, which is calculated at 6.5% of the price declared in the deed.
The Notary will then issue a copy of the text of the deed which you have signed for your reference and will send the original on to the Land Register, which will also charge a fee for its work. We offer our services to you free of charge and will oversee the conveyancing of your property – right through to handing over the final registered deeds, but we do ask for all associated legal costs in advance, on the day that you sign the deed. This is because you will probably not be here after the signing and we must pay each bill within a specified time limit to avoid further financial penalties and extra expense to you! There are no extra hidden costs. Each seller pays us a provision which covers the costs incurred on your behalf and once you have bought we are always here to advise you, should you require extra help or assistance; whether it is ordering a telephone, directing you towards the nearest garden centre, or simply helping to make you more at home.
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