Buy Gide

How to buy a property in Spain.

Foreigners rights and obligations.

Foreigners have the same rights and obligations as Spanish citizens in relation to the purchase and / or sale of properties, both private and commercial; established by the Spanish law.

Purchase contract.

If the buyer does not have the total amount of money to purchase the property, a purchase contract is signed linking the buyer and seller of the property. A sum of money is agreed between the selling and buying party as a reserve, which is also considered as part of payment. In this contract of purchase, a date is set as a limit to sign the deed of the property before Notary. If the buyer of the property gives up on the purchase of said property, he loses the money delivered as a reservation; and if the seller chooses not to sell his property, he must pay, as a fine, twice the amount of money previously received as a reservation.

On the date established in the contract of purchase, the signing of the deeds is done before a Public Notary; the buyer owing at that time, the remaining amount that resulted from the difference between the price of the property and the amount of the reservation that was made.

Property registration.

Although it is not mandatory to register the property acquired by the buyer in the Property Register, it is very important to do so as legal backup of your purchase.

NIE, Número de Identificación de Extranjeros (Foreigners Identification Number).

The NIE is a personal, unique and exclusive number that identifies foreigners in Spanish territory. It is mandatory for any foreigner, not resident in Spain, that wishes to open a bank account, buy a home and carry out any type of business in Spain.

How to get an NIE.

To obtain the NIE a foreigner must, in addition to completing and signing the corresponding form as an application, present his / her original passport and / or identity document, attaching a copy of it. The NIE may also be requested by a foreigner through a legal representative. In case of being a non-EU foreigner who requests the NIE, the documentation must be legalized previously and, if necessary, translated into Spanish.

A foreigner can apply for a mortgage in Spain.

At the same time that Spanish legislation grants the same rights and obligations to a foreigner as to a Spanish citizen, banks also contemplate the possibility of granting a mortgage to a foreigner on an equal basis. It is very important to keep in mind that any foreigner who applies for a mortgage, in addition to fulfilling the conditions required by the bank, must first apply for his / her NIE.

Should a foreigner have a bank account in Spain in order to buy a home?

A foreigner who wishes to buy a property in Spain is not obliged to have a bank account in a Spanish financial institution, though it does facilitate the payment of the expenses associated with the purchase of a property. If the foreign purchaser of a property in Spain had a bank account in a Spanish financial institution it would facilitate the payment of the corresponding taxes, since such payments must be made in Spain.