Real Estate Cases

Young foreign couple, resident in Spain. They come to me from the beginning. So I can ensure the steps of the sale and purchase. They have found an apartment in Barceloneta that interests them. The lawyer arranges with the clients to obtain financing, several banks are contacted and financing (mortgage) is obtained. It is difficult, because they have no assets in Spain and they have just started their work. They do due-diligence on the apartment, visually check it and go to an architect. The state of the apartment is correct. We check that there are no debts, that the reality of the apartment coincides with the Land Registry and that the price paid is reasonable. I take care of the legal texts, the seller collaborates and we reach an agreement in the visits to the apartment to prepare possible reforms. The only problem arises when the seller cannot get the certificate of occupancy in time to make the sale before a notary.

The certificate of habitability is the administrative document that ratifies that a dwelling meets the basic conditions to be inhabited. Regarding these basic conditions, it must be taken into account that in Spain they may vary depending on the Autonomous Community. The minimum useful surface area of the dwelling and of the different rooms, the free height, the openings and the minimum installations (electricity, water, services…) are taken into account as objective factors.

The habitability certificate is a legal requirement in Catalonia. This alerts us, but we explain the situation and the possible risks. The clients meet with the Notary before the public sale, the Notary confirms what was explained by the lawyer. Finally, the clients decide to buy. I arrange their financing with the bank and coordinate the parties: the bank, the buyers, the notary, the sellers and the agency. The purchase and sale is completed without major problems with an exception of responsibility for the seller with respect to obtaining the certificate of occupancy. After the sale, the certificate of occupancy is obtained and the clients are satisfied.