How we work
Buying abroad is easier when you know what happens next and who is responsible for each step. Here is how we work with you, with your own independent lawyer looking after the legal side.
Shortlist
Tell us what you need and we send you homes worth seeing.
We start by asking how you will use the home, which areas you like and what your budget is once taxes and fees are included. We then put together a shortlist of homes that fit, with new builds and resale homes side by side where both make sense. We tell you what we know about each one, including the drawbacks, so you can rule some out before you book a flight.
Viewing trip
See the homes and the area in person, on a trip planned around you.
When you are ready to visit, we plan the viewings around your dates and group the homes by area, so your days are not spent in the car. You see each home and the streets around it, and we answer questions as they come up. If you cannot travel, buying through a power of attorney is possible, and we can explain how it works.
Reserve and sign
Reserve your home, then sign the contract once your lawyer is happy.
When you find the right home, we take your offer to the seller or developer. Once it is accepted, you sign a reservation contract and pay a deposit, which should go to your lawyer's client account or a bonded third party. Your independent lawyer then checks the legal position, and you sign the private purchase contract: arras on a resale, or a contract with the developer on a new build. We can put you in touch with lawyers as a starting point, but you choose and appoint your own.
Stage payments
Off-plan buyers pay in stages. On a resale, the balance is due at the notary.
If you are buying off-plan, you pay in stages during construction, as set out in your contract. Each payment must be covered by a bank guarantee or insurance, and your lawyer should confirm this before any money leaves your account. On a resale there are no stage payments, and the balance is paid at the notary, as it is on a new build that is already finished. If you have a mortgage, this is the time to finalise it: the bank values the home and issues its binding offer.
Keys
Sign at the notary, collect your keys and set up the home.
Completion takes place at a notary's office, where you, or your lawyer under a power of attorney, sign the deed and the balance is paid. You get the keys that day, and your lawyer or gestor then deals with the tax and the Land Registry. We can talk you through the first jobs as a new owner:
- Change the locks and read the meters
- Put the utilities in your name and set up direct debits
- Arrange home insurance
- If you live abroad, file Modelo 210 each year