Legal Information

It is necessary to use a Spanish Solicitor or at least a Solicitor familiar with Spanish law as it does of course differ from UK law. To save you from paying 2 legal bills it is best to use a Solicitor in Spain and you can rest assured that all business with them can be conducted in English.

No, this is not necessary at all; your Solicitor can act on your behalf just the same as in the UK. They can even complete the purchase on your behalf if you have trouble finding the time to come to Spain.

Once you decide on a Property you will sign a purchase contract with the builder. The initial deposit of €3.000 is paid and if you decide not to continue (prior to any further payments) then it is likely you will lose your deposit in some cases unless an agreement is made differently. If you have paid further stage payments then it is recommended that you try and sell the property prior to completion or complete and then market the property for sale straight away.

The best advice here is to get a fiscal representative such as an Asesoria. They can help you fill in forms and answer any questions you may have. They offer a full service so whether you are looking at buying a car and changing the paperwork or applying for your Residents card (Residencia) they can help you.

Yes, this is advisable. Once you have taken possession of your property your Solicitor can assist you with making a will.

Firstly do not believe everything you see and read in the Media, they often present a biased view point.

One of the topics that have caused the greatest controversy lately is the Law 6/1994 Reguladora de la Actividad Urbanistica de la Comunidad Valenciana otherwise known as the LRAU. It has been stated that Real Estate owners may lose part of their property or that they have to pay large amounts of money to the developer.

The first thing is that, as the name of the law indicates, the areas affected are those within the Valencia region, e.g. Alicante, Valencia and Castellon. This law is not applicable to the regions of Murcia and Almeria, so the first thing to do is check if the property you are looking to purchase is located in these provinces.

If you are looking to buy in the Valencian region then do not worry, only a very, very, small minority of property buyers may be affected by this law.

The LRAU classifies 3 types of land, Urbanizado (developed) Urbanizable (land for development) and Rural (rural).

Around 90% of foreign buyers purchase a property already constructed or under construction, this land is owned by the developer. In these cases this land has been classified either "developed land" and the development is completed or "land for development" and the land will already have an approved development programme. The plans for the infrastructure will have been established to include roadways, electricity, plumbing etc. You can be assured that purchasing any of these residences cannot be affected by the LRAU.

The law only affects land classified as "rural" and basically intends that the owners of "rural" land that benefit from the change of its classification are obligated to contribute to the development process. The costs incurred by this participation are more than compensated by the benefits of a substantial increase in value to the property.

The isolated cases that have arisen have generally been as a result of corrupt application of these regulations. If your questions have not been answered in this section or you require further information then please do not hesitate to contact us.