|
Below is a list of some terms commonly used in connection with property transactions. We hope you find the explanations useful.
The licencia de obra will require you to appoint an aparejador whose role it is to check that the renovation work on your house has been carried out according to the architect's plans. He will sign off the builder's invoice at the end of each month confirming to you that the work charged for has actually been done. And if, as is usually the case, there is a difference between the proyecto and reality it is his job to measure the reality and compare the two so that the agreed price for the work can be adjusted up or down accordingly.
Town or City authority. Basically the lowest tier of government.
A carmen is a combination of house, garden and huerto (allotment) enclosed within high walls. What can seem like nothing at all from the outside is revealed as a small paradise on entering a door in the high wall. The patio and garden areas are designed as an extension to the house making it easy to enjoy outdoor living most of the year. Typical of Granada, particularly the Albayzin, Realejo and Sacromonte districts.
Certificate obtainable from the local Comisaria de Policia, stating that, according to their database, you are not a resident of Spain.
An administrative registry in which properties are catalogued with their physical economic and legal characteristics. These include its physical location, its catastral reference number, its area, its use, the type of cultivation (in the case of rural properties), a graphic representation of the location, the catastral value (on which taxes are based) and details of the owner(s).
A "private contract" is so called because it is not registered with the appropriate public authority. It is a way of formally reserving a property for you while both parties prepare their documentation, funds etc. Once all parties are ready they go before a Notary and formalise the sale The contrato privado does not give title to the property and its clauses are not legally binding.
Title Deed.
Title Deed signed by seller and buyer in front of a Notary.
Title deed stamped by the Registro de la Propiedad confirming that the Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales has been paid and that the change of ownership has been recordede in the public records.
Application for outline planning permission drawn up by an architect showing dimensions and position of building on the land. Used for new build projects.
A deposit. In this case it refers to the deposit required by the Ayuntamiento to cover possible damage to the public way during a renovation project.
A country property, often of productive fruit trees, which may or may not have a house (or ruin) on the land. Fincas without either ruin or house are not recommended as obtaining planning permission to build a house can be almost impossible.
Annual property tax based on the value of the property.
Transfer Tax payable when property is bought and sold. In Andalucia this is 7% of the value declared in the escritura de compraventa. The value declared in the sale is not always the true purchase price.
The regional government of Andalucia.
Formal planning permission, granted by the local authority, without which no major renovation may be undertaken.
The Notary, whose responsibility it is to ensure that contracts are legal. He is a servant of the state, not a lawyer, and his function is not to protect the buyer's interests. This is properly the role of your own professional and independent advisers.
Basically, a fiscal identification number which is unique to each person. Its use is widespread. All residents of Spain know their number off by heart. To obtain a NIE you must:
- complete and sign the appropriate form with two passport sized photos
- present the original and a copy of your passport
- justify why you want a NIE (a copy of the contrato privado will do this)
And you must be physically present when the application is submitted.
A certificate issued by the local Registro de la Propiedad showing who are the current owners of the property, whether there are charges or mortgages outstanding, restrictions on use etc.
A permit to perform minor renovation works. Easily and quickly obtained. Deciding how far this can be stretched before the work requires a licencia de obra which requires an architect to draw up plans and the project approved (rejected or modified) by the local planning committee, is an art.
A full planning application with detailed architects drawings covering every aspect of a property renovation.
When architects plans are submitted to Urbanismo for a license to do the renovation work, one of the conditions of that license will be that the house may not be occupied until a Permiso de Primera Ocupación has been obtained. Usually, once the work is complete and Urbanismo informed, an inspector visits the site to ensure that the work has been carried out in accordance with the license. If not he can order that it be rectified. The granting of the Permiso de Primera Ocupación can trigger other actions such as the refund of the deposit paid in case of damage to the public way.
Document issued by the Catastro which provides graphic detail of a property's location together with certain other basic details.
An administrative registry that holds records of all title deeds.
City or Town Planning Department.
Modern development (usually large) of identical houses built outside of a town or village. Normally with no facilities except, perhaps, a shared swimming pool. |
