PLANNING PERMISSION BARCELONA, CATALONIA PROPERTY FOR SALE, BARCELONA PROPERTY

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Spanish Property Check

This is a detailed property search for property purchases in Spain.

The facility has evolved through necessity and is in place to ensure purchasers can satisy themselves regarding several fundamental issues before entering into a property purchase contract in Spain or attending a Notario to complete upon the purchase of a property in Spain. All property is described as finca – you then have variations of finca such as: rústica (country property), urbana (urbanised with mains services), suelo urbanizable (construction land).

The Notary in Spain is an independent government official whose role is to ensure that a property (finca) passes from the seller to the purchaser and authenticates the documents. He will generally collect the taxes due to the government and land registry from the purchaser who will receive a document called a copia simple – which is a copy of the escritura. The escritura itself is sent to the land registry for the change of ownership to be recorded, once dealt with it will be returned to the Notary for collection.

The Notary in Spain will perform the legalities of the sale in Spanish, will specifically check:
- The registered owner of the property (ID checked by Notary) is present and is selling the property – this may be via a third party and a power of attorney (poder).
- The stated purchaser is present (ID checked by Notary to include NIE – numero identidad de extranjero -document) and is purchasing the property- again this may be via a poder (power of attorney).
- The Notary will check the cadastral register to confirm the vendor has the right to sell the property and that there is no outstanding finance/ debt registered against the property (debts remain on property in Spain and will pass to the new owner of the property if this is not done correctly)
- The purchaser will be asked – in Spanish- to confirm that they understand what they are signing, this is a multi page legal document in Spanish – the escritura.
The Notary in Spain:
- Will NOT specifically check that you are buying what you have seen, he only refers to a cadastral plan and a print off showing the linear demarcation of a finca.
- Will NOT specifically check that there is any construction is on the land itself – any construction that is built on a piece of land should be included in the escritura of the seller – if it is not included in the original escritura (deed) the building has to be declared in a separate escritura- this is termed ‘declaracion de obras’.
- Will NOT specifically check that any non declared construction on the finca is legalised
- Will NOT specifically check any rights of way issues
- Will NOT specifically check the possibility of the installation of high tension power lines
- Will NOT specifically check the possibility of the installation of wind turbines
- Will NOT specifically check that you have genuinely understood the procedure
- Will NOT specifically check that you understand the document that you are about to sign.

Spanish Property Check with Solicitors in Spain – The Services:

BEFORE you sign a contract with anyone – Pre contract checks - may save you your deposit/and/or purchase funds.

A. – CHECK OUT THE ESTATE AGENT (Inmobiliaria)
- Is your estate agent legally entitled to trade as a real estate professional - or are you dealing with an unregistered, non tax paying entity – you may be paying deposits to unqualified and non registered individuals - ask yourself whether you would give a stranger in your homeland a substantial amount of money without checking them out?
- Solicitors in Spain will report upon the legitimacy of the Estate Agent/ Inmobiliaria.
B. – CHECK OUT THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PROPERTY
- Are you buying what you have seen? Have you viewed the property having regard to and had sight of the cadastral plan for the property? – This is a document obtained from the the Spanish equivalent to the land registry (available on line) and is an extract of the property dossier for the finca -showing size, any legal buildings and its situation- the document shows the boundaries and alerts you to who the neighbours are.
- Do you have a right of way to your property – applies particularly if you have to cross other fincas in the countryside to get to the property you are interested in.
- Solicitors in Spain will report upon the physical aspects of the finca and the registered owner.
C.- CHECK OUT THE VENDOR -
- Have you met the vendor or the vendors representative – after all they will know the property boundaries better than anyone.
- Is the vendor as stated in the contract the legal owner of the finca – his ID – full name and address will be stated along with his DNI ( Documento Nacional de Identidad).
- Solicitors in Spain will report upon the physical aspects of the finca and the registered owner.
D.- CHECK OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF NUISANCE FACTORS -
- Is the property situated within any predetermined areas earmarked for
- High tension power line
- Wind turbines
- Nuclear power expansion (particularly Tarragona province – southern Catalunya)
- Solicitors in Spain will report upon the possibility of nuisance factors as pre determined in the Comarca plans.
E.- CHECK OUT THE PLANNING ISSUES -
- Buying a country property – Is it just land (no building) ? Can you obtain planning permission if you are buying a rustic property, do you have proof of this or just the agents word?
- Is there a current planning certificate in force – Is it genuine? Is it valid?
- Are you buying a pre constructed ‘home’ – Is this a legal building, does it exist in law? – Is there an escritura for the constructed property?
- Can you live in the property – do you have the appropriate certificate of habitation? Is the property urbanised?
- Has there been any payment of IBI (Impuestos sobre Bienes Inmuebles – local tax) paid for the constructed property? Or just payment for the rustic land?
- Solicitors in Spain will report upon the physical aspects regarding stated planning in force for the finca and report upon the legitimacy of presented documentation.

A solicitor in Spain could save you not only your investment in Spain, but future headaches with legal authorities – property irregularities pass to the owner of the property as do property debts and mortgages on property that are not correctly satisfied and dealt with at the time of the signing of the escritura. Spanish property Check, can provide a solicitor in Spain to accompany you to the signing at the Notary ( POA – hourly rate plus travelling) as an additional service, fully conversant in English and also a full translation of the escritura (POA – dependent upon document length and word count).

Need assistance

Contact Spanish property Check:

Email: spc@irl353.com

www.spanishpropertycheck.com