Notary Public for Spanish Property Cork — Buy and Sell in Spain from Cork

Spain is the most popular overseas property destination for Irish buyers, and Hugh Phelan's notary practice in Douglas, Cork handles more Spanish property documentation than any other type of international transaction. Whether you are buying your dream home on the Costa del Sol, a city apartment in Madrid, or an investment property in the Canaries, Hugh Phelan ensures your documentation is perfectly prepared for the Spanish system.

Why Spanish Property Requires an Irish Notary

Spain has a civil law legal system where property transactions must be completed before a notario público (civil law notary). The Spanish notario cannot accept an Irish buyer's instructions directly — they require:

• A power of attorney (poder notarial) granting authority to a Spanish representative
• The power of attorney must be notarised by an Irish notary public
• Followed by an apostille from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs
• Before it can be presented to and accepted by the Spanish notario

The NIE Number and Notarisation

Before completing a Spanish property purchase, you also need a NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) — a Spanish tax identification number for foreigners. Your Irish passport needs to be presented to the Spanish consulate or your Spanish solicitor. A notarised copy of your passport is acceptable in many cases.

Step by Step: Irish Buyer in a Spanish Property Transaction

1. Engage a Spanish solicitor or abogado
2. Your Spanish solicitor prepares a poder notarial (power of attorney)
3. You bring the drafted poder notarial and your Irish passport to Hugh Phelan's office in Cork
4. Hugh Phelan reviews the document and notarises it
5. The document is apostilled by the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs (1-5 days)
6. The apostilled document is sent to your Spanish solicitor
7. Your solicitor completes the escritura (deed of sale) on your behalf

Spanish Property for Irish Sellers

Selling Spanish property from Ireland follows the same process — you grant a power of attorney to a representative to act on your behalf at the escritura signing. Hugh Phelan notarises this power of attorney and advises on the apostille process.

Don't Leave It to the Last Minute

Spanish property completions often have strict deadlines. Allow at least 2 weeks for the notarisation and apostille process. Call 021-489-7134 as soon as you have a draft power of attorney from your Spanish solicitor.