1. Private contract & downpayment.
Our clients would normally visit 6 to 12 properties before they make a decision, and the viewings would normally take 2 days. Once you have chosen a property we apply for an updated certificate from the Property Registry to make sure the property is clear of debts, legal charges, and encumbrances. Upon receiving the certificate, you sign a Private Sales Contract with the owner or its legal representative, and pay a downpayment of some 3 – 5.000 euros in cash or with a bank transfer. At the same time we open you a bank account in a Spanish bank. It would normally take some 20 minutes, and doesn´t cost you anything. Your passport or ID card will be needed. In case you are a non resident in Spain, we accompany you to the Police in Las Americas to get you a NIE number (tax identification number). It will take 2 hours, and won´t cost you anything apart from 11 euros for the government stamp.
2. 10% deposit.
Since most of our clients are on holiday when then buy a property, sometimes they are not in a position to pay a full 10% deposit during their stay. In that case the Private sales Contract gives you an option to leave a downpayment, as mentioned above, and to pay the balance of the usual 10% deposit once you get back home. The Contract would normally stipulate 2 weeks´ time for that. This payment should be done with a bank transfer from your bank account at home to the account of the owner or his/her legal representative. The contract also leaves an option to transfer the 10% deposit to our agency instead of the owner, so that is it deposited with Asten Realty until the day of the signing of the Title Deed.
3. Title deed.
The Contract would normally give the buyer 2 months´ time to complete. During this time period you should transfer the rest of the money to your Spanish bank account. Once the day of the signing of the Title Deed is confirmed by you and the owners, you have to come back to Tenerife, or to send you legal representative. The signing always takes place at the Notary (solicitor). We usually sign all of our Title Deeds at the Notary of Don Nicolas Castilla, in Los Cristianos, Arona. The final payment to the owner is always done with a bank´s draft. We accompany you to your Spanish bank to make sure it is done in the right way. After the Notary reads out the text of the Title Deed, you pass the bank´s draft to the owner, the owners gives you the keys to the property, both parties and the Notary sign the Title Deed, and you become a legitimate owner of the property. You have the right to move in to your property the same day.
4. Taxes & municipal contracts.
According to Spanish Law, all the purchase taxes, as well as paper work, are to be paid and presented within a 30 day period. As a common rule we delegate the payments and paperwork to certified accountants (gestoria). They will be in charge of paying the 6,5% IGIC tax to the government, to register the Title Deed at the Property Registry, to change your electric, water contracts, as well as the community and municipal charges in your name.
5. Final touch.
In 45 days after the signing at the Notary we will have all your papers, receipts, contracts, as well as the original of your Title Deed sealed and registered, at our office. We will call you to come over to pick it up, or will mail it to you with a certified mail to any country you wish.
As you can see buying a property in Tenerife is a simple and easy process if you delegate it to the right agent.
Asten Realty is here to help.