One completely legal and frequently used s&ution for property that has no registered title at all is called a 205 procedure, after the number of the regulation which controls it. In this process, you obtain from the Property Registry what is called a “negative certification”. This means that the Registry has searched its files and finds no registered owner for the property. Here again you will find the certificado catastral useful, because it will have an accurate physical description.

You then request that the property he registered in your name because you have bought it from whoever is the seller, who in turn justifies his title by whatever document or evidence he presents. This transaction must be published and posted publicly in case anyone wishes to protest. If no protest is made against your claim, at the end of about a year’s time you will get a solid title.

If you are going to buy under these conditions, be sure to hold back a percentage of the price until the property is registered in your name. No matter how simp’e the procedure appears when you start, there is always the possibility of some unknown person coming forward with a claim to the title. There is an element of risk.

Expediente de Dominio

This process, roughly translated as an ownership proceeding, requires more time and expense than the 205 procedure, because it involves more investigation and court action. The expediente de dorninlo can also he used to establish title when the property is in fact registered, hut in the name of a person who no longer claims it either because he has sold it to someone on a private contract, who has never registered the sale, or perhaps because the original owner has died. This will take about two years.

The claim must be published in the official bulletin and evidence taken in court. Finally, the court will rule on the title and it will be solid. There is always the chance of some nephew who should have inherited the property making a claim of his own against the present purchaser, and the court wifi decide where the best claim ties.

In any of these procedures to establish title and register the property, be warned that you will be unable to obtain any mortgage funding, and you cannot borrow against the property for two years after its registration.

In any of these cases, you need sound legal advice. Ask around among older residents for an abogado or an adn,inistrador de fincas or a gestor whom they trust.

Financing your Spanish property

There are a number of ways in which you can finance your Spanish property, just as you probably did when you first purchased a house in your owm country. Mortgages of 20 and 30 years, along with mortgages of 100 per cent of the value of the property, are now available in Spain. For a non-resident buyer, however, the mortgage is usually limited to around 70 per cent of the valuation of the property.

Financing by the developer

Let’s look first at financing which may be offered you by the deve’oper of the project where you purchase. There are dozens of different schemes here and you should be wary.

The contract must stipulate the down payment, enumerate the following payments and state when such payments end. It will he clear from the total of these payments just how much the developer’s financing will cost you in comparison to paying cash. If the difference is acceptable, you have a deaL

Make sure you know what happens if you miss a payment. There should be some provision that is not too harmful to you, allowing you to make a certain number of late payments for only a small penalty.

Another essential provision will allow you to pay off the remainder of the contract in a lump sum at any time you choose, without having to pay the total remaining interest. You might at a future date come into money, enabling you to make such a payment. Or you may wish to pay off your terms with the developer in order to resell the property.

Developers often offer excellent terms to purchasers who begin their payments before the building is finished. This can be favourable to the huyer, but he must he sure that the developer is reliable and solvent, and can bring the project to completion.

Often, the developer offers a bank guarantee that assures the buyer the return of his invested money if the project stalls or fails. An important point is that this bank guarantee will cost the buyer a small percentage of the price. It is a separate transaction with the bank, not necessarily inc’uded in all contracts. If the developer offers this guarantee, details must be clearly spefled out, either in the contract or in a separate document.

Finally, Spanish consumer legislation passed in 1996 requires that all contracts spell out terms clearly. Do not be afraid to ask plenty of questions. And use a Spanish lawyer.