A notary is an officer of the court who draws up, authenticates and preserves documents proving the existence of an agreement between two (2) parties. His presence is therefore useful during areal estate purchase or rental procedure.
But the role of the notary in Spain is slightly different from that in France when it comes to property acquisition.
A notary in Spain represents the State. This obliges him to be impartial and to favor neither the buyer nor the seller. Before any real estate purchase, he certifies :
- the identity of the property owner and the buyer;
- the identity of the witnesses who will sign the sale documents;
- the concordance between the descriptions of the property on the deed of sale and in the register;
- the authenticity of the deeds of ownership and sale of the property;
- the purchase or rental value of the property;
- the availability of the house on the real estate market.
Once all these conditions have been met, the sales contract can be signed in the presence of the notary, witnesses and the two parties involved. The notary then ensures that the seller has been paid, before registering the new owner of the property in the local property register. The notary is also responsible for collecting all funds and taxes on the property.