Re: xy3-spain to xy4-uweb119

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      Information in English> Buying a property in Spain

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         Buying a property in Spain
         If you intend buying a property in Spain, whether this be
an apartment or house on the coast, a flat in town, a plot of land or
country estate, THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO IS GO AND SEE A NOTARY.
         Do not sign any private contract without first consulting
with a Notary. Remember as well that the ideal thing is to do the DEED
directly, because THIS CAN BE DONE IN JUST A MATTER OF HOURS as soon as an
agreement is reached with the seller, and no other kind of document need be
signed previously.
         The Notary will draw up the deed, find the best balance of
interests
         -adjusting to the instructions of the parties- and provide
special legal advice to the party that most needs it. He will control the
legality of the claim and demand the necessary licences and authorisations.
         In this way the buyer can always be sure he is buying in
accordance with the Law and the state of liens and encumbrances described,
because -except in cases of urgency or justified waiver- the Notary should
undertake to check the ownership and state of liens and encumbrances at the
Registry Office. Once the deed has been signed, a fax will be sent to the
Land Registry in order to gain priority over any entry that is submitted
afterwards.
         In most cases, the Notary can be asked to handle the
question of paying your taxes, reporting your investment as non-resident to
the Spanish Authorities, handle the question of filing the deed at the
respective official bodies and at the Land Registry,

         Making last will and testament in Spain
         The Notary will inform you about all the legal
possibilities depending on your national law, because in certain countries a
married person with children does not count on the same freedom as a single
person without descendants. You should also remember that there are times,
even though the testator is not a Spanish subject, that Spanish Law is
applied if the property is located in Spain. After you have decided on a
special attribution, the Notary will adjust your wishes to the strict
testamentary demands, finding the most correct formula to suit your wishes
and produce the desired effect, avoiding any technical error that could
backfire your intentions.
         The original copy will always be kept at the Notary office
or at that one of his successors, thus avoiding risks of loss or theft.
         In addition, the Notary sends a report to the Ministry of
Justice simply notifying it that the will has been made, without of course
disclosing the contents. The record is kept secret until the death of the
testator, at which time, thanks to this we can know what was the deceased's
last official will, thus avoiding possible errors that could later prove
serious.
         Because of all this, avoid making an holographic will
(written by hand by the actual testator without notary authorisation). The
absence of suitable advice, added to the risks of loss, subtraction or
omission, together with the need to record it in an official instrument in a
term of five years from death of the testator in a legal action, renders
this inadvisable, except in very special cases. etc.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Holmgren" 
To: 
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2006 11:27 AM
Subject: Re: xy3-spain to xy4-uweb119
** Reply to message from "Patricia M. Godfrey"  on
Mon, 13
Feb 2006 17:24:40 -0500
Here notaries just stamp documents to
certify them official.
Nowadays. But originally (well, *originally*, way way back, notaries
wrote
legal documents, as lawyers do today; but in the USA...) their chief
function
was to certify that an illiterate signator, who placed his "mark" (X) on
documents, was indeed the person who was intended or entitled to sign. An
anachronism, really. Witnesses served a different purpose. They swore
that
the person who signed actually *understood* what they were signing -- an
important issue in an unlettered society. In some states, e.g. Maine,
notaries
still take their job seriously: you hold up your right hand, they read a
statement asking whether you are who you say you are, whether you can read
and
write, and you swear. In New York, they just say "gimme two dollars", and
wham! stamp the document.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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