We want you to understand the process of buying and selling a home in Spain, the procedures required and the approximate time it usually takes.
That is why we share the steps that you must follow before and during the purchase of a property, duration of the process itself, and other tips that we are sure will be very useful in your search for the perfect apartment.
In this article you will find everything related to:
Understand the buying process
Buying a property in Spain, both as a national and as a foreign person can be very rewarding, but at the same time it can become a daunting experience if it is not carried out with knowledge and rigor.
How long does the purchase process take?
Everything will depend on the type of buyer in front of us. If the buyer knows the sector or is not the first home to buy, the search process and eventual purchase will be faster, and may last up to just under 1 month.
However, if the priorities are not very clear, we are facing the purchase of a first home, or it is not known what can be achieved at the mortgage level, the buying and selling process can last up to 12 months.
Even so, the average to find a flat for sale is 3 to 5 months.
If you want to shorten this period it is important to know well your economic capacity, your real estate needs and, above all, look for homes in a quality portal and with truthful information.
Steps Required to Buy a Home
- Diligences of the property: It consists, fundamentally, in the review of the property. Its registration, owner(s), details such as location or size are verified, and it is verified that it is a debt-free property.
- Reservation and advance contract. Through this contract, both buyer and seller express their explicit intention for the sale to take place. In Spain this contract is called the Arras Contract. Usually, it closes with the deposit of 10% of the value of the property by the buyer, but it is an amount that can be agreed between the parties, since there is no legal obligation to deposit a specific amount. This step is binding to the purchase, so you must be clear that you can find financing. If the buyer is the one who cancels the agreement, he will lose the amount delivered, while if the seller does, he will have to return twice as much as received.
- Mortgage (loan). We are facing a long process, so the sooner it starts, the better. The most natural thing is to go to the bank, or a similar entity, to borrow the money. In the Spanish case you must know the different types of mortgage that exist before making a decision, in which the interest rate varies, according to the duration of the loan. In order for the bank to grant a mortgage, you will first have to make an appraisal of the apartment to be purchased.
- Mortgage evaluation. In the event that a loan (mortgage) is granted, we will face the evaluation phase of this. The bank will receive the prior agreement, send an appraiser to evaluate the property and, once the estimate has been established, the financial institution will favorably sign the mortgage.
- Closure. This is the moment when the transfer of ownership is certified before a notary. Both parties provide the requested documents (identification, title deed, payment, etc.), and finally the contract is signed and authorized by the notary.
- Registration. Once the verification has been made that the taxes have been paid, the profits are transferred. After registration in the Land Registry, the buyer becomes the definitive owner of the property.
Is it easier to sell my home through a real estate agency?
More and more people are opting for a real estate agency both to sell and to buy a house. When selling a home with a real estate agency, the steps will be very similar to, when doing it from private individual to private, but the difference is that a specialized agent will take care of a large part of the procedures. In general, you just have to decide to sell your property and leave everything in the hands of reliable and highly trained professionals.
The real estate agency will be responsible for qualifying potential buyers; we investigate to know if the interested person has the financial capacity to make the purchase. Knowing how to choose is a much more complex task than it might seem at first, and of course, intuition is not enough, much less when it comes to transferring by sale (onerous or lucrative contract subject to extensive legislation) something as important and serious for all purposes as is a real estate property.
We take care of Home Staging, one of the key concepts of recent years when announcing your apartment. In addition, we disseminate and advertise your property through our social networks and our real estate portal.
Although we include the appraisal of the house in our services, you can, perfectly, make several free appraisals of the house on your own.
The real estate agency will also be responsible for managing requests for information and making visits. When there are purchase offers, we will inform you, so you can choose the one that convinces you the most.
