10 steps a foreigner must take to buy a house in the Canary Islands

Hire a specialist to help you

Our team of lawyers and real estate legal specialists can help you throughout the purchase process, as this will help you avoid travelling and help you with all the formalities.

Carry out a feasibility study

Make a feasibility study in case you have to ask for a mortgage. This step can be carried out at any bank specialising in international customers, such as CaixaBank, BBVA, Sabadell, which will confirm the viability of the operation within 72 hours via its online platform and without the need for translation.

Apply for the NIE to identify yourself

It is essential to apply for a Foreigner’s Identity Number (NIE), which will help you identify yourself in Spain. If you need it, we  can take care of the necessary procedures to apply for the NIE.

 

Open a bank account in Spain

It is important to open a bank account in Spain, as all taxes and fees associated with the sale transaction must be paid through this account. To do this, you do not need to travel if you live in one of the 15 eligible European countries, such as Austria, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

If you do it in person, you can do it without travelling by means of a power of attorney that allows another person to come to the office on your behalf, for which you will need an official translation into Spanish and a certified colour copy of the DNI or passport with the Hague apostille stamp to certify that it is authentic. As for the necessary documentation, a passport or identity card, the Tax Identification Number (TIN) and proof of economic activity and volume of income are essential.

 

Hire a company to check the state of the house

It is advisable to check the state of the property before making the purchase, for which you can hire a company specialised in carrying out qualified inspections. We will always provide you with the  nota simple registral of the property, which contains the information related to the property.

 

Give a deposit as a reservation of the property

Buying a home in Canary Islands

Reserve the property by means of a deposit contract and handing over a percentage, generally 10%, as a deposit. In this sense, you should bear in mind that, in the event that the sale does not take place for reasons beyond the seller’s control, you could lose this deposit. Otherwise, if the seller decides not to go ahead, he will have to compensate you with double the amount of the deposit.

 

Gather the necessary documents for the mortgage

If you need a mortgage, you must gather a series of documents that allow the bank to analyse your financial situation. Check here what documents the banks require to be able to study the financing operation.

 

Appraise the property to find out its real value

The next step is to have the property appraised by a specialised company before taking out the mortgage, so that you know the real value of the property.

 

Sign the pre-contractual documents and find a public notary

The penultimate step is to sign the pre-contractual documents, after which you must respect a reflection period of 10 days, which will be 14 if it is in Catalonia, so that you can clarify your doubts with the notary chosen to sign the mortgage.

 

Signing the purchase and sale of the property and the mortgage

Finally, once you have done all of the above, it is time to sign the sale and purchase agreement and the mortgage before a notary. The purchase contract obliges the seller to hand over the property in exchange for a previously agreed amount of money, so if either party fails to do so, there may be consequences.

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