How long does the purchase take to compete?

Hi,

Approximately how long does it take to complete on a purchase?  is it weeks?  months?

Thanks

kelju

Hi,

Approximately how long does it take to complete on a purchase?  is it weeks?  months?

Thanks

kelju

Does depend a bit on any hold ups from your end, or the sellers end, but as a rule the purchase can be very quick, unlike the UK where they just love to hang everything out for weeks or months or even longer if they can.

I bought on a Thursday, solicitor okayed everything the next day Friday, I went and signed up, and paid 3 weeks later,  owning the house and moving in the same day, got the deeds 2 / 3 months later, perhaps it could have been earlier for the deeds but i couldn't get back to Spain before this.

If all is well both ends i see no reason why it cant be done in a matter of weeks, somewhere between 2 to 4 max,  also depending a bit / lot when your solicitor can get an appointment with the notary.

Hope this helps you a little.

If there are no other parties involved (Banks making a loan or with outstanding mortgage etc) and it is a cash purchase, and there are no problems with outstanding bills etc.,  the only delay is how long it takes to  get  the appointment to sign the buy/sell contract before a Notary.

Of course if either the buyer or seller have decided to use a solicitor (that’s your choice not a requirement) then he/she will ‘cause a delay’ to ‘justify’ the bill they are going to give you !

So a couple days I believe could be realistic.

Hi - as the other posters have said, it varies tremendously.  My personal record is one week - the client viewed the property on the Tuesday and got the keys the following Wednesday.  There was a lawyer involved, if you use a decent lawyer then that does not build in a delay.

Having said that, in this area if the buyer is non-European it can take 6 months for the Ministry of Defence to check them out and allow them to buy, as we are designated as a military zone.

If the buyer needs a mortgage then the banks can take around 6 - 8 weeks to get round to doing a valuation and then another week or so to make a decision.

On average I would say about 4 weeks is the norm, but like everything else in Spain, there is no definative answer!

Claire T:-    On average I would say about 4 weeks is the norm, but like everything else in Spain, there is no definitive answer!

Claire,  What I said was it is a couple days,  unless one has a solicitor or other complication.   If there are complications then it depends on the complication how much longer it may take,  and ONLY in such a  case is it variable.

With no complications, it can easily be just a couple of days.

Hi Johnzx - I was simply giving my professional experience, having been in this business for more than 5 years.

If your experience is different then that is fine, but it does not negate anything I said.

Sorry Claire, I was giving my opinion after living in Spain for over 25 years, and 30 years of buying and selling here, and assisting family and friends to do the same.

I am sure with your experience,  you would not disagree with what I have said, albeit, that in different circumstances (as I said) the time factor will of course be different.  But with no complications a few days is sufficient.

As the original question was, "Approximately how long does it take to complete on a purchase?  is it weeks?  months? "   perhaps we could agree on ‘anything from a couple of days’.

No worries Johnxz.  I suppose it depends on what you mean by complications.  As I mainly deal with non-resident buyers and sellers, there are normal steps to undertake like:

• buyer obtaining an NIE certificate (can take up to 3 weeks to even get an appointment)
• buyer moving money from one country to another
• buyer opening a bank account
• then getting the bank to write the cheque (can take a couple of days in itself)
• getting certificates from the Administrator that there are no debts
• getting up to date water and elec bills, as the property could have been for sale for several years

We allow our buyers up to 5 working days to pay the deposit and very few would be in a position to complete in a few days.

If there are no mortgages involved, the buyer has their money here already, and their NIE is in place, then in theory it IS possible to complete in a few days.  Just never come across anything that straightforward!

Claire T  'If there are no mortgages involved, the buyer has their money here already, and their NIE is in place,

then in theory it IS possible to complete in a few days. 

Good to know we agree, if after reading the thread "The property market is being demolished ! "  there are any buyers willing to chance their luck and their cash.

Claire, interesting upto date and informed information you provide should be useful t0 those wishing to purchase in Spain.

At the begining of this year due to a company relocation (France to Switzerland) I sold a property in France and have taken some time out enjoying what Spain has too offer. As I have to return to work in January I have been through the process of buying a property in Switzerland. There have been some delay having to explain where the funds came from although I have banked in Switzerland for some 30-years. I understand this is due to a global tightening of money laundering regulations.

Where in the process of purchasing a Spanish property does the money laundering checks get made? Or do they not get made? This could cepain.

Rossetti

Hi Rossetti - the banks do have an obligation to check where funds come from, and I think they ask questions about anything over 3,000€, though I am not totally certain that this is the cut-off point.  I was asked to show proof of origin of funds I used to open a new account recently.

I was asked to show ID when I wanted to pay a bill for a client with a 500€ note, so they are taking it seriously!

There is also a new law which says that you cannot use more than 3,000€ in cash for any transaction, although there are a few exceptions, so, all in all, there is a tightening up of the rules.

Hi all,

thanks for the replies, encouragingly no one has said it will take months to complete, but I do take the points that there are some dependencies on bureaucracy in terms of timescales.

As we are not using a mortgage, hopefully ours will complete within a few weeks.

thanks again

kelju

Well it all depends. I bought an off plan property from ATLAS INTERNATIONAL in 2003 using their lawyers Aroca Sequeir. The builder Tecnologia Urbanistica did not have planning permission for the site so we were moved to another urb that was nearly complete. In early Jan 2005 we were escorted to the bank to collect the final 25% some as a money order and some cash and were handed the keys. Unfortunately Tecnologia Urbanistica, Atlas International and their corrupt lawyers managed to spirit the money away and at this moment in time we have an impending court case in The Royal Courts of Justice in London as we have a) no escatura b) no Certificate of Habitation c) No water or electric contracts on a still far from completed urb. We also owe the bank the builder's mortgage so they are repossessing our houses. Buyer beware. Tip 1. Always take out a small mortgage. Tip 2. Never buy off plan. Good luck.

Claire …………..the banks do have an obligation to check where funds come from, and I think they ask questions about anything over 3,000€

I do not believe the bank have an obligation to discover where money deposited comes from, but if the customer cannot show  where it came from,  the Bank must report the transaction to the bank of Spain. (I believe it applies to amounts over 3,000 €)

Claire:_  There is also a new law which says that you cannot use more than 3,000€ in cash for any transaction, although there are a few exceptions, so, all in all, there is a tightening up of the rules.

QUOTE:_

Paragraph 1 of article 7 of the anti-fraud Law writes “a transaction where one of the parties intervenes as a professional or a business owner can’t be paid in cash if the amount equals or exceeds €2,500 or its counter value in a foreign currency”. It then reads that “Nevertheless, this limit will be €15,000 or its counter value in a foreign currency when the payer is an individual and proves he/she is a non-resident individual in Spain.”

"depending a bit / lot when your solicitor can get an appointment with the notary"

The only notary's office in town here used to be like Central Station at rush hour, back in the day. Now, you can stroll in anytime and pretty much get your business done straight away - if you can find a notary who isn't down at the local cafe, twiddling his thumbs and looking bored.

FLY380: 

                      I bought ..... from ATLAS INTERNATIONAL .....using their lawyers ........their corrupt lawyers managed to spirit the money away

And you are surprised  ‘your lawyer’ did not protect 'your interests' ?   Why do you think that was ?  (Rhetorical)

If you are going to use a lawyer, NEVER USE THE SELLERS' LAWYER !

Oh with the benefit of hindsight! Atlas encouraged us to use them - still too late now. They promised in their brochure to look after all legalities and now Olivia Stockdale ceo of Atlas says " but we are only estate agents" after promising everything in their fancy brochure.

floella - we are taking them to the High Court in London + their lawyers.