Once you have located an appropriate property in Spain and you have started negotiations with its proprietor, the conveyancing process should begin.
We’d be delighted to give our professional assistance during all that process. However, we recommend at any rate that you go through the following steps:

1. Due diligence check: You should first of all check which are the legal circumstances of the property you are intending to buy. This means assessing whether the buyer is its actual owner; whether its town-planning situation is untroubled (this means, namely, checking whether the property was built with the appropriate licenses, and whether it is affected or not by an urban-planning reform); and whether there are mortgages, liens, or embargoes upon it.
   
   In Spain, it is habitual to find out that the buyer has still not repaid the mortgaged loan he or she contracted so as to buy the property. In these cases, the mortgage is commonly repaid and cancelled at the moment of signing the purchase deeds with a part of the purchase price. (Take note that, if you are intending to get a mortgage in order to acquire a Property, it is sometimes cost-effective to substitute the seller in the loan he or she has not repaid, as you can avoid some high commissions to the bank, which arise from establishing the new mortgage).
2. Preliminary contract: Once the due diligence check is finished, in Spain it is customary to sign a private contract between the buyer and the vendor, prior to the signing of the actual conveyance deeds. The aim of such a contract is to ensure that the conveyance will take place, as the conveyancing process can take some months, especially if the buyer must negotiate a new mortgage with his or her bank.
   
   If you are ready the sign the conveyance deeds once you have checked the situation of the property, we recommend you to avoid signing the preliminary contract. Conversely, if you need some time in order to arrange ancillary issues, it is advisable to sign such a contract.
   
   Among preliminary contracts, the most usual ones are the Option contract, the Reservation contract, the Private purchase contract, and the Arras contract. The core of these contracts is that both parties undertake the obligation of selling and buying the property once a stated amount of time has elapsed. For such purpose, it is customary that the buyer makes a deposit for a x % amount of the purchase price. Take note that, in order to proceed with this deposit, it is essential to trust the seller, as there are no warranties that the deposit will be refunded in the case that the conveyance doesn’t take place.
3. Signing of the purchase deeds, and afterwards: According to Spanish law, the transfer of the ownership takes place when both parties sign a purchase contract before a Public Notary. We can assist you in choosing the appropriate Notary, and to prepare the documentation. If you cannot be present at the moment of the signing, we can prepare a power of attorney, so that someone else (including ourselves) is able to act on your behalf.
   
   Once the purchase deeds are signed, the buyer becomes the owner of the property. However, two further steps must be made: the buyer must pay the Property Transfer Tax (ITP), and he or she must register the conveyance at the Land Registry. We will carry out on your behalf these proceeds.

If you want further information on the conveyancing process in Spain, we strongly recommend you Mark Stucklin’s website, “Spanish Property Insight”, (www.spanishpropertyinsight.com), a much-awarded guide for foreigners intending to acquire a property in Spain.