- abogado: Lawyer
- acta notarial: notarial deed within the framework of voluntary jurisdiction as the basis for entries in the „registro de la propiedad"
- acta de notoriedad: Voluntary jurisdiction procedures for land registration, where the principle of "tacto sucesivo", the continuous registration, has been interrupted
- afecciones registrales: charges entered in the land register, for example for future back taxes
- agente: Real estate-agent
- agrupación: Merging a plot of land with others
- alta catastral: Cadastral Office
- altura máxima: maximum permissible building height
- anotaciones marginales: Annotations in the land register that refer to documents that are being registered
- aparejador: Civil Engineer
- arras: Hand money or hand money. If "arras penitenciales" have been agreed, the contract can be cancelled by the buyer acknowledging that he will lose them or by the seller repaying them twice
- arrendamiento de obra: Contract for work, e.g. construction contract with building contractor
- asiento de presentación: A kind of notice of abandonment. Protection of the buyer for a certain period of time against further registrations.
- ayuntamiento: Town hall, municipal administration
Lexicon real estate purchase Gran Canaria
In our encyclopaedia we list the most important terms when buying a property in Gran Canaria.
Important terms when buying a property in Gran Canaria / in Spain
A - "abogado" to "ayuntamiento"
B - "boletín de enganche"
- boletín de enganche: Certificate of correct installation of the electrical equipment.
C - "cancelación" to "cuota"
- cancelación: Cancellation notice for encumbrances in the land register
- casa: House
- ceder: ceded/assigned
- cedula de habitabilidad: special certificate of habitability
- certificaciones: Certificates, here certificates of the architect on the progress of the construction
- certificado bancario de devisas: Bank certificate that the purchase price was paid in foreign currency
- certificado de no residente: Certificate of non-resident status
- Código Civil: the Spanish Civil Code
- Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos: the Chamber of Architects
- comunidad de herederos: Community of heirs
- comunidad de propietarios: Community of owners of a residential complex
- condición resolutoria: resolutory condition, whereby an intended legal consequence does not occur if certain conditions are not met
- condición suspensiva: suspensory condition, whereby a legal consequence only occurs if certain conditions are met
- consejo de administración: Board of Directors of a private urbanisation, elected by the meeting of the owners
- contratista: Construction company
- contrato de arrendamiento: Rental agreement
- contrato de arrendamiento por temporada: Season rental contract
- contrato de opción: Option contract granting the right to purchase a property
- contrato privado de compraventa: private purchase contract
- copropietarios: Co-owners, when several people own a property together
- cuerpo cierto: known thing, a phrase used in sales contracts to make it clear that the buyer knows the characteristics of the property, similar to the phrase "bought as seen"
- cuota: the share in a community of co-owners; at the same time a reference point for contributions to the community
D - "declaración de heredero" to "división"
- declaración de heredero: Deed of proof of inheritance
- declaración de obra nueva: New building declaration, purely declaratory entry of a new building in the land register
- delegación de urbanismo: Municipal building authority, which is responsible for issuing building permits and from which information on the buildability of land can be obtained
- Demarcación de Costas: Coastal protection authority to ensure compliance with coastal protection legislation in Spain
- derecho de retención: Right of retention, the right of a contractual partner to withhold services if the other contractual partner is in default
- derecho de retracto: Right of first refusal
- derecho de superficie: Surface law, a Spanish law provision comparable to the German heritable building right
- deslindes: Administrative procedures for the demarcation of the sea-shore and inland borders
- división: Disputes, the right to dissolve a community of co-owners at any time
E - "edificabilidad máxima" to "escritura pública de compraventa"
- edificabilidad máxima: maximum buildable area of all floors
- elevación a público de documento privado: the need for public authentication of private documents before entry in official registers
- embargo: seizure, encumbrance of the property, which in particular also restricts the free sale
- escritura pública de compraventa: notarial deed of sale, which certifies the often previously concluded private contract
- escritura de manifestación, aceptación y adjudicación de herencia: notarial certificate of acceptance of inheritance
F - "fianza" to "firma"
- fianza: Deposit
- finca: property, but also synonym for farm, country estate
- finca registrada: registered property
- firma: Signature
G - "gastos según Ley" to "gestoría"
- gastos según Ley: contractual clause that costs will be allocated in accordance with the legally prescribed form; deviations are possible and customary
- gestoría: Commercial business agent who, among other things, makes official registrations; sometimes also takes over accounting tasks
H - "Hacienda Pública" to "hipoteca"
- Hacienda Pública: the Spanish tax administration
- hipoteca: Mortgage
I - "I.B.I., impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles" to "IVA, impuesto sobre el valor añadido"
- I.B.I., impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles: the municipal property tax
- impuesto de actos jurídicos documentados: Notarisation tax (for purchase contracts 0.5% of the purchase price), often also called stamp duty
- impuesto de transmisiones patrimoniales onerosas: Real estate transfer tax from the amount stated in the Escritura
- impuesto sobre construcciones, instalaciones y obras: municipal tax on building projects
- impuesto sobre patrimonio: Wealth Tax
- impuesto sobre la renta de las personas físicas: Income Tax
- impuesto sobre sociedades: Corporate income tax
- impuesto sobre sucesiones y donaciones: Inheritance and gift tax
- impuesto estatales: State taxes
- impuestos y tasas municipales: local taxes and duties
- información urbanística: Application for building rights, by which information on the building potential of land and individual building rights norms is requested
- inscripción mediante instancia privada: private application for correction of the land register due to succession
- institución de heredero: the appointment of one or more heirs
- IVA, impuesto sobre el valor añadido: VAT, the normal rate is 16%, for new buildings 7%
J - "jardín"
- jardín: Garden
L - "legítima" to "licencia de primera ocupación"
- legítima: Legal portion
- legítimo: legal
- ley de la propiedad horizontal: Spanish law on residential property
- Ley 8/1989: Law to combat under-securitisation when buying real estate
- Ley de arrendamiento urbano, LAU: Spanish rental law
- licencia de obras: Building permit, prerequisite for acceptance of the building
- licencia de primera ocupación: Certificate of the municipality certifying the habitability of a property
M - "memoria de calidades y mediciones" to "multipropiedad"
- memoria de calidades y mediciones: Building certificate
- metro: Meters
- multipropiedad: Timesharing (several owners) - not recommended!
N - "NIE, número personal de identificación de extranjeros" to "notario"
- NIE, número personal de identificación de extranjeros: Foreigner identification number / Foreigner tax number
- NIF, número de identificación fiscal: Tax number for residents
- no residente: non-resident, not resident in Spain, with the result that the person is subject only to limited Spanish tax liability
- nota marginal: Margin note recording the cancellation of registered rights in the land register
- nota simple informativa: uncertified extract from the land register in the form of a photocopy
- notario: Spanish notary
O - "obligación personal" to "otorgar"
- obligación personal: unlimited tax liability for residents
- obligación real: limited tax liability (non-residents)
- ocupación máxima: maximum permitted covered area
- otorgar: Conclusion of contract
P - "parcela" to "plusvalía municipal"
- parcela: Plot
- partición: Division (here the community of heirs)
- partida de defunción: Death certificate
- permiso de obra menor: Permission for minor construction work on the property
- piso: Flat
- plan parcial: Partial development plan of the municipality, urbanisation plan
- planta: Floor
- plusvalía municipal: municipal increment value tax on land
- poder: Power of attorney
- poseedor: owner, he/she exercises de facto control over the property - usually on the basis of a legal transaction (e.g. rent)
- posesión: possession, the de facto control of movable or immovable property
- precio: Purchase price
- primera copia de la escritura de compraventa: certified copy of the deed of sale of a property, abbreviated as "escritura"
- promotor: Property developer
- propiedad: ownership, the legal power of disposal over a movable or immovable object
- propiedad horizontal: Condominium ownership
- propietario: Owner
- protocolización: Confirmation of a foreign document (with apostille and certified translation) by recording it before a Spanish notary or consuldurch Protokollierung vor einem spanischen Notar oder Konsul
- proyecto de ejecución de obra: Construction planning, the entirety of all planning documents for obtaining the building permit
R - "recepción definitiva" to "residuos sólidos"
- recepción definitiva: final building acceptance, decisive for the start of warranty periods
- registro de la propiedad: Land Registry
- residuos sólidos: Recycling Fees
S - "S.A., sociedad anónima" to "suelo urbano"
- S.A., sociedad anónima: Spanish company form, comparable to a public limited company
- S.L., sociedad limitada: Limited liability company
- saneamiento: Warranty for defects, claims if the object of sale is afflicted with defects
- segregación: Separation of a part of the property
- señal: payment of a deposit in such a way that it is lost if the contract is not fulfilled; equivalent to "arras"
- separación a linderos: Minimum distance of the building from the neighbouring plot
- servidumbre: easement, encumbrance of the property in favour of third parties or other properties, e.g. rights of way, etc.
- servidumbre de tránsito: Right of way
- solar: Building plot
- suelo no urbanizable: Green areas or nature reserves. Building applications have practically no chance here
- suelo rústico: utilised agricultural area. Here you can realise at least one small building on a relatively large area
- suelo urbanizable: Building land. There is actually nothing that stands in the way of the basic development of the site
- suelo urbano: urban area, comparable to interior development under German building regulations
T - "tasa" to "toma de posesión"
- tasa: municipal tax for obtaining the building permit
- tasa de recogida domiciliaria de basura: the municipal waste tax
- toma de posesión: Taking possession of the property, which usually takes place when the keys are handed over
U - "U.T.M" to "usufructo"
- U.T.M: the cadastral number, which is the number under which the land is registered at the cadastral office
- urbanización privada: private development community, mostly for the construction of villa complexes
- uso: Permitted use
- uso de oficinas: Use as office space
- uso residencial: residential area, also "uso vivienda"
- usufructo: Usufruct, the right to use and draw the fruit
V - "valor catastral" to "valor real"
- valor catastral: Cadastral value
- valor comprobado por la administracion: the value assumed by the tax authorities as the basis for the taxation of wealth
- valor real: the actual value
Z - "zona de influencia" to "zona marítimo terrestre"
- zona de influencia: more distant coastal zone where building development is restricted
- zona de servidumbre de protección: protective strip of 100 to 200 metres adjoining the immediate shore zone and subject to special conditions
- zona marítimo terrestre: seashore and immediately adjacent publicly owned area
Buyers about us
Many thanks for the numerous positive reviews on Google, Facebook and Trustpilot.
Wir haben von der Schweiz aus durch die Firma Sun-World-Immobilien eine Traumwohnung vermittelt bekommen! Der Kai Derichs ist ein so lieber Kerl, wir können Ihn und seine Firma bestens empfehlen. Er arbeitet korrekt, speditiv und absolut zuverlässig mit einem super Netzwerk von Fachleuten. Kai, Du bist uns ans Herz gewachsen, vielen Dank für Deine tolle Unterstützung.
We have been able to get a dream flat from Switzerland through the company Sun-World-Immobilien! Kai Derichs is such a nice guy, we can recommend him and his company very well. He works correctly, quickly and absolutely reliably with a super network of professionals. Kai, you have grown dear to our hearts, thank you very much for your great support.
Rolf Schmid
Gran Canaria, 18.10.2019
We have got to know Kai Derichs as a competent and reliable broker on Gran Canaria. In his personally helpful manner, he completed all necessary formalities in the necessary correctness and brevity. We always felt that we were well looked after and can recommend Mr Derichs without reservation.
Bernd Osterwald
Gran Canaria, 23.10.2019
Contact us now
We take care of you until the notarial deed of sale and beyond. Furthermore, we are happy to advise you on the procedures, the documents necessary for the purchase, the pricing and tax issues. At any time, we will gladly recommend reliable, competent tax offices, lawyers, craftsmen, building cleaners, etc.
Our advice and support naturally extends far beyond the purchase! In case of possible modernisation work of your new acquisition, the purchase of a car, the renting etc. we will gladly remain your competent and trustworthy contact person.
Sunny greetings from Gran Canaria,
Sun World Immobilien
Best regards,
Kai Derichs & Team