How To Buy In England and Wales / Buying In Spain / The Legal process / First Time Buyer Information

You should seek advice from your SPS solicitor estate agent from the word go, as he or she will be able to oversee your entire property transaction from start to finish. The service you'll be given will start with your solicitor advising you on the value of your property.

In addition, a solicitor will determine any legal issues at the outset and deal with them before the property is put on the market, in order to ensure a smoother sale. SPS solicitor estate agents and their property teams have excellent local knowledge and will advise you on market conditions for the area that you wish to move into.

If you don't already have a solicitor estate agent, you will be able to search Find an Agent on www.sps.net

Once your property is on the market, prospective buyers will begin to view the property. This will ultimately lead to an offer being made via the potential buyer to the selling agent. That offer will be subject to contract and survey.

Once agreed, the buyer will commission a survey. If the resulting survey is unsatisfactory, the offer may be further negotiated or withdrawn altogether.

If, on the other hand, the vendor accepts the buyer's offer, the seller's solicitor will prepare and proceed with the draft contract. This part of the transaction includes the examination of the title, investigation of searches and checks with local authority. Where the home purchased has 4 or more bedrooms some of this work will have already been completed as part of the Home Information Pack. The solicitor will raise any enquiries with the vendor's solicitor. Following this, contracts are signed, exchanged and a completion date set.

Finally, completion is concluded and the full price paid in exchange for the title deeds and keys on date of entry.