Steps involved to buy a house in Ibiza
When you buy a house in Ibiza there are two things that you need before you start the process. The first one is a fiscal number, called the NIE number (número de identificación de extranjeros). It’s a personal unique code that lasts for the whole life and allow each person to pay tax, purchase property and pay utility bills. The second one is to open a bank account in Spain. These are mandatory points for all non-residents to obtain it prior to signing the Deed of Sale (Escritura de Compraventa).
Now let’s have a look in details at the steps involved to buy a house in Ibiza.
Step 1 – Preliminary Phase: Offer Acceptance and Negotiations
Once we help you find your dream home and the owner has accepted the offer, we’ll start the negotiations to buy a house in Ibiza. This point involves the terms and conditions of the sale, such as the sales price, terms of any likely renovations or maintenance works that should be undertaken to the house, furniture arrangements, selling date and so on. Bear in mind that if you decide not to continue with the purchase at this stage, you are not legally bound to do so in any way.
Step 2 – Holding Deposit and Pre-Sales Agreement
To buy a house in Ibiza after the sales price and all the other terms and conditions of the contract have been agreed, a Contrato Privado de Compraventa (preliminary sales contract) is stipulated. In this contract are provided the details of the property, names of the buyer and the seller, the deposit, the agreed price and the date on or before which the contract must be completed. At this point the contract is legally binding, so ensure you understand it properly!
Once you and the seller have agreed on all the basic terms and conditions, then it’s the moment to put down a reserve deposit to take the property off the market – the amount is normally around the 10% of the agreed sales price.
At this stage a deposit document (Contrato de Arras) is stipulated, which includes: the property particulars, price, deposit payment conditions and date of completion. Should you breach the contract, the deposit is forfeited. If the seller withdraws from the sale, you are entitled to receive double of your deposit back, less any legal fees that may be applicable.
Step 3 – Sales Contract (Escritura de Compraventa)
In order to finalise the process to buy a house in Ibiza, on the agreed sales completion date, you must pay the balance of the purchase price (sales price minus deposit) plus any fees payable including notary’s fees, taxes and duties. Payment can be done by banker’s draft or bank transfer, so foreign buyers are required to set up a Spanish bank account and transfer the money from a bank in their home country. At this point your will sign the “Escritura de Compraventa “ contract, which is equivalent to the title deeds of the property.
You are then issued with the public deed of conveyance (escritura) in front of a Notary Public, who certifies the transfer, and a copy will be passed to the tax office and on to the property registry. The Notary Public in Spain is a public official who is required to witness the deed of sale, however an expert and independent legal advice should be used to protect your own interests.
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