Notary Question ?

[LittleMissHappy]

Do I have to be present at the Notary myself when signing a contract for the exchange of a property in Spain ?

[Gulliver]

It is always best if you can be there in person, but not always possible. Under these circumstances you can award power of attourney to your lawyer to enable them to act on your behalf, you do not need to travel to Spain to be there. The same is true in reverse if you are in Spain and buying or selling a property in the UK.

[MrGrumpy]

No, you don't need to be there. Like Gulliver says, just sign power of attourney over to your Lawyer and he can act on your behalf. I did this when I bought my House in Spain, and did the reverse when I sold my house in the UK.

[LittleMissHappy]

Thankyou to both of you - that would certainly make my life much easier. Can you point me inthe right direction as to how I should arrange this ?

[AJC]

If you do a search in the yellow pages for a 'Public Notary' under the legal section you should find one. Most towns have a Solicitor who is also a Public Notary, which basically means that he can witness legally binding documents. You need to ask your lawyer in Spain to prepare the Power of Attourney documentation and post them to you in the UK. When you receive them you just need to make an appointment with the Public Notary in your area and go along with the documents and proof of you ID. He then checks that you are who you claim to be, you sign the documents in his presence, and he countersigns and signs the document. You then post them all back to your Lawyer in Spain to prove that you are giving the, permission to legally act on your behalf. Should cost you about 50 - 60 Quid at the public notary in the UK.

[LittleMissHappy]

Thankyou. If it is such an easy thing to do then I can't see any reason why I should come over myself. My lawyer might aswell earn his keep.

[Gulliver]

Thankyou. If it is such an easy thing to do then I can't see any reason why I should come over myself. My lawyer might aswell earn his keep.

Providing you know and trust your lawyer (IE he is legit), then there is no real reason that you shouldn't - especially if it is simply a matter of business, like selling an investment or holiday property, as opposed to selling something like your main home that you have an emotional attachment to.