Colliers International Spanish Property Market Report Summary Bullet-point!

 

We published a detailed SPI article several years ago in eight languages, which explained what an NIE number is and how to get one. A NIE number is assigned by the national police and is yours, it never changes for the rest of your life. Spanish police issued a certificate of A4 size several years ago which had a three-month expiration date printed on it. Modern NIE numbers no longer display 'expiry' dates.

Sometimes notaries require the seller to produce a new updated NIE number certificate on sale. This is because they saw that the 3-month expiration date was (long) overdue and requested a new copy. In fact the 'new' certificate contains exactly the same amount and information as the former certificate, the only difference is that no expiration date will exist. apartment

Imagine sitting at a notaire's office on the morning of completion, in the middle of a group of anxious strangers and feeling a knot at the pit of your stomach when your selling is reported to have fallen because the notary does not accept your NIE number! Now imagine the stakes of millions of euros. It can be well. The sale must be postponed or changed to a notary (not always possible when mortgage loans are involved, as is often the case).

Again, some notaries, not prone to nit-picking, will not hesitate to accept a 'expired' number certificate from the NIE. You find it absolutely unnecessary to reapply for a new copy, and are glad to accept an old one with an expiry date of 3 months.

The problem is that sellers cannot choose the notary to have a sales certificate. This is a right which only belongs to buyers who are entitled to choose the notary they like the most. One of the many disadvantages for sellers is that they are unable to know beforehand – often until it is too late – which notary is the one the buyer has chosen. This means that they do not know whether or not the chosen notary demands that their old NIE number certificate be updated upon sale.

Your designated conveyance lawyer can easily prevent this by including a clause in the POA for a duplicate NIE if the selling needs to be achieved. Ultimately, in practice it is a little similar to playing Russian roulette; the seller cannot be certain whether or not the chosen notary requires an updated NIE certificate. Your transport lawyer's obligation is to plan ahead and overcome any unforeseen obstacles.

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Richard Martin George Raymond (1948). Is an American novelist and writer in the genres of fantasy, horror and science fiction.. He is best known for his international best-selling series of epic fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, later adapted to Gama of Thrones, a dramatic HBO series.

At Larrain Nesbitt Abogados we have over 17 years of experience helping customers purchase and sell properties in Spain and deal with taxation.

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Article also published at Larrain Nesbitt Lawyers (LNA): You require an updated NIE certificate in order to sell property in Spain?