In the Netherlands, when you buy an owner-occupied house or holiday home, you have a legal cooling-off period of 3 days. After signing the purchase contract, a 3-day period begins to run during which you can renounce the purchase free of charge. No such cooling-off period exists in Spain.
No cooling-off period in Spain
After concluding the purchase contract, you have no cooling-off period. The sale is final and you cannot recover the deposit made - usually 10% of the purchase price. This applies to both a re-sale and in the case of a new build or buy on plan.
First working with a reservation contract
This is why we always recommend working with a reservation contract first. With a reservation contract, you take an option on the property for a certain period of time, e.g. 20 days. Within this reservation period, the property cannot be sold to anyone else and you can have all checks carried out.
First, these are the legal controls. For example, are there debts or building violations, are there restrictions on holiday rentals or is the seller indeed the registered owner? Confianz can assist you with these checks.
In addition, the structural / building inspection also possible within the reservation period. You can then engage an architect to identify any defects in the property.
Upon reservation, you pay an initial advance of between EUR 1,500 - 10,000. This amount should preferably be paid into a third-party account. You can recover the reservation amount in case of legal or construction defects.
Find more information on the reservation contract here.
Then you draw up a sales contract
Once you have a view of the legal and structural state of the property, the purchase contract can be drawn up. In the purchase contract, you can include, for example, additional clauses about holding off debts, legalising building violations or the seller repairing certain defects. With the purchase contract, you pay an advance payment totalling 10% of the purchase price; also preferably into a third-party account.
Read more about the process of buying a property in Spain here.
Decision
Reflection period when buying a property in Spain is not common. On the other hand, instead of signing a purchase contract immediately, you can draw up a reservation contract first. This way, you can have all checks carried out, before you make a final commitment to buy.
Do you have any questions about buying property in Spain? Then feel free to contact with us.
