How is a house paid for before a Notary?

By Juan Madridejos Velasco and Luis Alberto Álvarez Moreno, Notaries of Barcelona and partners of the Notaria in Barcelona J&LA Notarios.

If you are about to buy a home, you will surely be interested in knowing how to pay for a house before a Notary (or other type of property) and what methods exist to do so safely.

At this very important stage of the sale, the payment not only represents the delivery of the agreed price, but also a guarantee of legal security for both parties involved. For this reason, at the notary's office, the means of payment are regulated and must be clearly reflected in the deed, ensuring transparency, traceability, and legal compliance.

Payment methods in real estate sales

Below, we explain the options for choosing a payment method for those wondering how to pay for a house before a notary.

How much money can be paid in cash in a purchase and sale?

Paying for a purchase in cash is outdated due to laws that prevent money laundering.

Currently, this amount, if a professional or company is involved, cannot exceed €1000 according to the Money Laundering Law, so paying for a house in cash or with cash in a purchase is very uncommon.

Furthermore, in the case that a non-resident individual in Spain pays in cash, the legal limit for cash payments is 10,000 euros.

Therefore, cash payments in purchases are rare, usually limited to small transactions agreed upon by the parties involved.

How is a property sale paid with a bank cheque?

However, the bank cheque is established as one of the most common methods for buying and selling property.

It is a fairly common method to pay for a house before a Notary, as it is handed over at the notary's office once the deed of sale has been signed. Being detailed, it ensures that only the recipient can receive and deposit it in their bank without any problem.

Pay by direct debit for a purchase sale

In this case, the buyer periodically transfers an amount that has been previously agreed with the seller. Therefore, an authorisation from the buyer must be managed with their financial institution to carry out the corresponding direct debit.

Likewise, we can talk about other forms of payment that we have already discussed previously:

Pay purchase with bank transfer

Payment by OMF bank transfer is one of the most common options.

You can learn more about this type of transfer here:

Mortgage payment

Applying for a loan from your bank for the payment of a purchase is one of the most common ways to pay for a house before a Notary. In this case, it will be the bank granting the mortgage that makes the transfers or issues the cheques. You can learn much more about this in our mortgage deed service.

How to make a payment receipt for the sale of a property?

The payment letter is a document that records that a payment has been made. It is a normal receipt that the creditor gives to the debtor. It is common in sales when a house is paid for using methods such as bank transfer, cheque, or instalment payments.

The person who has received the payment for the sale drafts the payment letter, indicating the amount received, the date, the purpose, and the signature. The transaction receipt can be attached and its reference included in the deed.

In the most common case, where the payment is made at the notary's office by cheque or bank transfer, the payment letter for the amounts received will be given in the sales deed itself.

The payment of the deposit contract, notary, and related taxes

If you want to learn more about the price of other matters related to this deed, we leave you some links to help you understand this overall process.

How to pay for a house before a Notary in a secure way

This process, so important in people's lives, is essential to carry out ensuring legal security and transparency of the operation. Knowing the different methods of how to pay for a house before a notary or other type of property will be essential to be able to choose the most convenient one for each of us.

Receive professional advice and support throughout the process at our notary office in Barcelona. We invite you to contact us via our email bcn@jlanotarios.com, through the contact form on our website or by visiting us at our offices.

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