We are about to purchase a village property but there are apparently some problems with the escritura.
1) The owner’s husband died intestate some years ago (they had one daughter, who has been involved in the negotiations from the start).
2) Apparently, when the owner bought the property (at least five years ago) from a large local family, one brother signed on another brother’s behalf without a power of attorney. I believe this brother, who never signed, is untraceable and may have died.
3) The notary is aware of these problems and has said that there would be no problem with the owner signing the property over to us very soon.
My questions are:
1. Does the brother who never signed (assuming he’s still alive) or his relatives have a claim on the property once it has been signed over to us? How can this be avoided?
2. Is there some way that this can be sorted out BEFORE we sign the escritura? I am presuming the notary is aware of some way to sort this out and this is why s/he is so confident that everything will be OK. However, I am aware that the notary is not acting on our behalf and am keen to find out for myself, exactly what steps we all need to take to make sure we are the SOLE legal owners when we buy it.
The other brother, if he were to emerge from nowhere, could have a claim on the property. You can’t rule it out.
I strongly recommend you hire a good lawyer to make sure that you are covered. You don’t mention your lawyer – does that mean you are trying to buy a Spanish property that has title deed complications without using a lawyer?
Thank you for your reply. We are in the process of finding a lawyer. Since we are not along the coast, it’s difficult to find a lawyer who is able to help us in English. We both speak very good Spanish but not enough to read legal jargon and understand its implications. It also seems to be difficult to find a REPUTABLE English-speaking lawyer along the coast!
At present, we have been advised that the long lost brother IS still alive and MAY have signed some kind of ratification document after the house was purchased. The vendor and her lawyer are currently trying to track him down.
If someone signed on behalf of someone else without an authorised power of attorney the Notary should have mentioned this in the escritura and that the brother has to officially confirm his agreement. The Land Registry should not allow a new escritura to be registered if they do not have a certified copy of the ratification or at least they will carry the same note in the Registry, i.e. that there is a missing confirmation from the brother. This could cause problems in the future. If the brother has since died then you would have to get his successors to confirm on his behalf.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue to use the website you agree to our use of cookies. You can find out more here. Accept
Cookies
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.