Things to Consider
Developers
When purchasing a property in Spain, you must make sure that the contract contains a thorough written description of it so once completely built you can confirm that all requirements are duly met. In case there are any irregularities you are entitled to claim before either, the developers or the builders. The developers finance the building works and are usually in charge of controlling the whole process, while the builders actually carry out the building works at the site.
The developers can sometimes be the sellers or even the actual builders of the property. No matter how involved they are with the building works, they will have to respond before any problems that may arise at any stage. Together with the builders, they manage the building site, therefore it is very important to know exactly who the builders and who the developers are before purchasing a property.
Price
As far as the taxes are concerned, the purchase of a property is subject to the TVA tax; which is a 10% over the property value. When registering the Title Deeds with the Notary, you will also have to pay for the AJD tax, this is a transfer tax of 0.50% over the price as established in the purchase Deeds. Normally, this tax is not included in the purchase price and is included among the Notary expenses.
Bank guarantees
Developers are obliged to guarantee the refund of the amounts handed on account for the property plus the legal interests incurred through either insurance or bank guarantees in case the building works are not started, the completion date is not met or the cédula de habitabilidad (occupancy certificate) is not granted
This bank guarantee can be either of general application for all the purchasers at the site and for all the payments made or individual. In both cases, the bank guarantees are compulsory and the developers are obliged to grant them even though they may imply an extra cost for them. This is the only way to guarantee that you will get your money back if your property cannot be handed in for whatever reasons.
Title Deeds
The seller cannot force you to use any specific Notary Office; you have the right to choose the one Notary you wish to use.
If you are getting a mortgage to pay for your property, the developers cannot force you to use a specific bank either and if you wish to use a different Bank to the one proposed by the developers in the purchase contract, they cannot ask you to pay for any additional costs that this change may imply. This same thing happens with the Notary Office.