If you are planning to acquire property in Spain, let us help you get it right first time.
Whether you are here for the beaches, the golf, the polo, the sailing or a commercial venture, buying property in Spain is a happy experience when it is properly looked after. With more than thirty years of practice on this coast we have helped hundreds of clients through it.
We can begin taking care of your requirements before you even step onto Spanish soil, from obtaining your NIE through to the purchase, the letting or the sale, and we advise on the tax that comes with owning here.
Spanish property law works differently from the English or Irish system. Ownership passes before a notary by public deed, and is then inscribed at the Land Registry, which is what makes it fully effective against everybody else.
One practical point matters more than any other: charges and obligations attach to the property itself rather than to the person who created them. That is precisely why the checks we carry out beforehand are worth doing carefully.
My team and I take you by the hand through each stage, in English or Spanish, explaining what is happening and why. Where something needs resolving we tell you plainly and set out the options, so that decisions are yours and made with the full picture in front of you.
It is the Land Registry extract showing who owns the property, how it is described and anything registered against it. It is inexpensive and it is where every purchase properly begins.
The notary is a public official whose role is to witness the deed and confirm identity and capacity. Checking the physical, planning and registry position is separate work, and it is what we do for you before you commit.
It is common enough and usually resolvable. Depending on the age of the work and the planning position it may be regularised, or reflected in the price and the deed. What matters is finding it early, which is part of what we do.
If you own property here, we would always recommend it. It makes matters far simpler for your family, and it is the natural place to elect the law of your own nationality to govern your succession, which many of our clients prefer.
This page gives general information about Spanish law and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts and should be assessed individually.
Tell me a little about what you are planning and I will reply personally, usually within one working day.