Among the many and varied expenses associated with buying a home are notary fees. Although the involvement of a notary is not required to finalize the transaction if the buyer pays in cash, it is recommended to ensure that the process is legally sound.
Want to know what the notary fees are when buying a home? Keep reading—we’ll explain them in detail below!
What role do notaries play in the sale of homes?
Notaries are both public officials and legal professionals. As such, they exercise their duties with guaranteed independence and perform a function that is essential to providing citizens with the legal certainty enshrined in the Constitution. To this end, they verify the facts agreed upon by the parties, validate them, and issue a public certificate attesting to all of this.
It is important to note that notary fees include a fixed fee established by Royal Decree 1426/89. This fee compensates notaries for their services and funds the system that ensures preventive legal certainty. That is why all notaries in Spain charge the same fee for providing an identical service, although they may offer a 10% discount. Therefore, your choice—beyond this possible discount—depends entirely on the quality of service they provide.
In the case of real estate sales, notaries perform various functions:
- They ensure that the property can be transferred. To do so, they confirm that the seller owns the property by requesting a property abstract from the Land Registry.
- They draft the deed for the property to ensure it complies with the law and give the transaction legal validity once it is completed.
- They inform and advise the buyer on everything involved in the sale and the terms of the agreement (with the seller, as well as with the bank and the insurance company, if a mortgage is also being taken out).
Is a notary required when buying or selling a home?
The answer to whether you should set aside money to cover notary fees for a home purchase is: it depends. If the transaction is carried out through a private agreement, it is not strictly necessary for a notary to certify it. However, it is still highly recommended to use a notary’s services, because finalizing the sale with a public deed signed before a notary will provide the agreement with all the necessary legal safeguards.
Also, keep in mind that if the transaction involves signing a mortgage, the involvement of a notary is essential. This is primarily to ensure that the borrower understands the terms of the loan, since the notary must draw up a notarial record certifying that the borrower has received the necessary information and understands it.
What do notary fees for buying a home include?
Please note that a notary’s invoice includes more than just the notary’s fees. The amount you pay will also serve as a provision to cover taxes, registrars’ fees, and other expenses related to the transaction, which the notary must pay later on behalf of the client. In other words, it will cover expenses such as professional liability insurance, IT services, and the binding of deeds.
In any case, don’t worry— the notary will itemize all these charges on the bill so you’ll know exactly what you’re paying for and why.
What are the notary fees for buying a home?
As we have mentioned, the cost of this activity is set by law. However, it is determined based on three different factors:
- The value of the home (the price paid for it).
- The number of pages in the deed.
- Copies issued of the deed.
To get a quick idea of how much notary fees amount to when purchasing a home, it’s worth noting that they typically range from 0.2% to 0.5% of the home’s purchase price. Therefore, for transactions under 200,000 euros, the total notary fee must not exceed 1,000 euros under any circumstances. The notary may apply a discount of up to 10% to this amount, if they so choose.
However, you must add to this amount the cost of the copy of the deed that you, as the buyer, are responsible for, as well as the cost of any subsequent copies. Depending on its length (the number of pages it contains), you will have to pay between 50 and 90 euros for it.
Who is responsible for paying the notary fees when buying a home?
If we stick strictly to the letter of the law, Article 1455 of the Penal Code specifies that “the costs of executing the deeds shall be borne by the seller, and the costs of the first copy and any subsequent copies following the sale shall be borne by the buyer, unless otherwise agreed.”
However, the key lies in what it says at the end, because sometimes, in earnest money agreements or deeds of sale, the seller and the buyer agree that the buyer will bear the notary fees or that these costs will be split equally (50-50%). It all depends on each party’s position and whether an agreement can be reached on this matter; if not, the provisions of the Penal Code will prevail.
And if the sale involves taking out a mortgage, the bank providing the loan will typically cover the notary fees. In this case, you should only pay for your copy of the deed and any subsequent copies.
Who decides which notary will handle the real estate transaction?
In all cases, the choice of notary is up to the buyer. If you sign a mortgage with a bank, the bank will usually recommend a trusted professional who is familiar with its terms and loans. However, the client will always have the option to choose another notary, as clearly stated in the Mortgage Law.
CULMIA helps you calculate the costs associated with buying a home
These are the notary fees for buying a home . But they’re only a small part of the total investment you’ll need to make to enjoy your new home, so we recommend you download our ‘ Guide to Buying a Home ‘ below. It’s free and, in addition to detailing these and other costs, it gives you all the information you need to approach this process with complete peace of mind.
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