CROBECO Press Release

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November 28, 2010 / ELRA Secretariat

CROBECO Press Release.

Brussels, Thursday 25th November 2010

FIRST EUROPEAN CITIZEN PURCHASED A HOUSE ABROAD FROM THE BUYER’S HOME COUNTRY:

On 25 November, a Dutchman was the first person to purchase foreign immovable property in a purchase process organised completely from his home country. The purchase deed concerned real estate in Spain obtained provisions that made home country law applicable to the agreement. In this way the buyer is better protected against undesirable consequences of a foreign legal system that is not familiar to the buyer. “It is expected that this new procedure will boost confidence in a protected legal position and encourage purchases of foreign immovable property,” says Wim Louwman, director of the project from the European Land Registry Association (ELRA).

EUROPEAN RESEARCH:

The new procedure was prompted by research on a simpler and more confidence-inspiring process for purchasing foreign immovable property that is subsidized by the European Commission. The European Land Registry Association (ELRA) conducts the relevant research. The ELRA project team is devising a European framework for obtaining foreign immovable property, in which the deed is drawn up and concluded in the buyer’s home country. Wim Louwman, Chief registrar of the Dutch Land Registry and ELRA board member: “We are very proud of this first instance. All those involved cooperated superbly.”

INCREASED CONFIDENCE:

The keystone in this new European method for transferring ownership of foreign immovable property is a bilingual deed issued by a notary from the buyer’s home country. The two languages of the deed are the mother tongue of the buyer and the official language of the country where the immovable property is located. The deed also contains a clause that makes buyer’s home country law applicable to the contractual obligations. In this way the buyer is better protected against undesirable consequences of a foreign legal system that is not familiar to the buyer. The deed contains also provisions that fulfil all requirements imposed by the lex rei sitae for the transmission of ownership and its registration in the Land Books of the Member State where the asset is located. It is expected that this new procedure will boost confidence in a protected legal position and encourage purchases of foreign immovable property.

SUPPORT FROM EUROPEAN LAW UNIVERSITIES AND LAND REGISTRARS:

The new process was developed in close collaboration with the European Law Institute at Maastricht University, under the supervision of Professor Van Erp and the University of Valencia under the supervision of Professor Iglesias. The registrar from the buyer’s home country, in this case Netherlands plays a supporting role by helping the Dutch civil-law notary to access the foreign Land Registry correctly and by helping the foreign registrar to determine the validity of the contract. The Dutch registrar advises his counterpart, the responsible registrar in Spain.

FIRST TIME:

During the ELRA conference, on 25 November in Brussels, the advice was added to the deed issued by Dutch civil-law notary Von Seydlitz and sent electronically to the responsible Spanish registrador. This marks the first successful completion of the process, which is expected to boost confidence in a protected legal position in the purchase.

More information is on: www.elra.eu

You can also contact:

Mr. Wim Louwman
Chief Registrar in the Netherlands and Administrator of ELRA Board of Directors
Phone (088) 183 31 22 or (06) 52 48 17 04

ELRA Secretariat
Av. de Cortenbergh 66 – 2eme etage.
1000 Bruxelles
Phone: 0032 22801445

Presentations given during the CROBECO Conference held in Brussels, November, 25th. 2010