All the documents you need to buy a used or new home in Spain

If you’re thinking of buying a house in Spain, you should first know that once the property has been transferred, the charges are also transferred. The steps you should follow depend on whether the home is second-hand, new or off-plan.

For the majority of people, buying a property is the greatest investment they ever make, so it pays to be well-advised. For this reason, Foro Consultores real estate consultants recommend making the purchase through a lawyer or a real estate advisor. If you decide to go it alone, however, there are a number of precautions you should take:

If the seller is a private individual:

• Ask the person selling the house for the property registration number (número de registro de la propiedad) or the property registration forms (finca registral). This is done to identify the owners stated in the documentation and avoid any nasty surprises later.
• Check if the home has a mortgage or any other type of charge tied to it.
• To find out all this information, simply request a Nota Simple document which explains all of this from the Land Registry Office in person or on their website.
• Another of the checks to be made is to find out if the house is up to date with the payments of the community fees and other expenses. To do so, we must contact the Building or Estate Manager or the Chairman of the Owners' Association and ask them to issue us with a certificate showing that the property is up to date with the payment.
• You must also go to the Town Hall to check that the seller is up to date with the payment of their Property Tax (IBI) and the waste tax, if there is one in that region.
• Ask the seller for the Energy Performance Certificate because without this document the notary will not accept the signing of the deeds of sale.

If the seller is a developer:

• It is necessary that the technical project be approved and have the building licence, the town planning certificate and the certificate of the Land Registry.
• If you buy off-plan, ask for the guarantee policy for the amount to be paid.
• When the property is handed over to you, check that it has the Title of Horizontal Division, Community of Owners Statutes or Ten-Year Insurance...

What papers should you ask for if you’re buying off-plan?

The regulations are quite exhaustive when it comes to buying a property before it has been built. In fact, the Spanish legal system requires a series of documents that certify the complete legality of the home. Before you buy, make sure the developer has:

1. A building permit and technical certification on the adequacy of the building to the license granted and the project approved by the City Council.
2. Registered the building in the Property Register.
3. A certificate from the Mercantile Registry that certifies the existence of the company, its registration details, the administrators and/or attorneys-in-fact, the registered office and its NIF identification number.
4. A general plan of the location of the property and blueprints for the property itself.
5. A description of the property with its useful surface area and a general description of the building in which it is located, of the common areas and of the additional services.
6. The technical specifications.
7. The total price of the sale plus VAT specifying everything, including garage space and storage room, as well as the method of payment.
8. Made sure that the quantities to be paid are guaranteed.

See also: The 10 things you need to sell a Spanish property