The Notary

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The public Notary is appointed by the Spanish government to witness the signing of all legal public documents. In this case the title deeds (escritura) of the property. He represents both the buyer and the seller. The Notary fees are around 1% of the purchase price of the property and must be paid at the time of the signing of the deeds.

The Original signed document is retained by the Notary who will apply for a formal change in the land registry. The purchaser will receive an initial legal copy of the title deed which is signed and stamped by the Notary. The official title deed can take a while to be processed and until then this is your official proof of ownership and must be kept in a secure location.

At completion, all the parties (or their designated representatives) go to the Notarios – the public official appointed by the Spanish government to witness the signing of all legal documents – where the title deeds (Escrituras) are signed. At this point you pay the balance of the purchase price and all fees and taxes, including 7% of the purchase price on new properties or of the declared value on re-sales.
Then all transfer taxes and fees are paid to the tax offices. Next the notary will register the transfer of ownership at the land registry. ‘Plus valia’, a tax on any increase in the land, is levied in some areas. This registration may take a while; you can ask for a copy of the records from your notary, it’s called ‘copia simple’.

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