The Spanish Notary, how reliable is he?

There is no profession in Spain as famous as the Notary. This is especially so for homebuyers who, up to 15 years ago, visited the notary in Spain and had the craziest stories.

What you should you look when visiting a notary:

• Have a good translator

• Know how the payment is made

• Know who pays the taxes and the cost of the transfer

• Ask who is responsible for the registration in the Spanish property register

Always have a good translator or things could go wrong. It has happened that someone has signed for the sale of a house, but the translator told him that he's just a proxy for the registered sale.

The payment for a Spanish house does go through the notary. You cannot pay into a Spanish notary deposit account for payment of a property that you are going to buy. The payment is directly to the seller during the transfer at the notary.

If you buy a house in Spain then you pay a tax for the transfer. The cost of the notary and registering in the Spanish property register are also at your expense. The taxes are on top of the price paid by the seller.

After you've signed at the notary and paid the purchase price, you must do more. Your purchase must still be registered in the property register and the taxes and costs must be paid. These operations are outside the scope of the Spanish notary. Therefore it is important to know who does what.

The notary does not perform the function of a British solicitor and will be impartial to both parties. Please ask for an idea of additional costs involved.