Advice on buying Iceland Property

Monday, 23 August 2010 17:28

You have found a property in Iceland you wish to purchase what next?

Having found that ideal property the first thing a property purchaser does in Iceland is to ask their agent to obtain a paper certificate of mortgages, charges, and other possible rights and obligations in relation to the property that is to be purchased. This can be done by a visit to the District Magistrate (Land Registry) and will cost ISK 1000, but as most estate agents have on-line access to this information the same information can be achieved on-line from the Landskra Fasteigna (a data information service )at a cost of ISK 550. What this does is to show what charges if any are lodged against the real estate. Your Estate Agent prepares the sales contract which you, (the purchaser) and the seller sign, and you both confirm the agreed price and the conditions of sale.

It is not mandatory to use your authorized estate agent, but it is almost an absolute praxis as he with his local knowledge and speaking the language will be able to look after your interests. His fee for this service will be between 1.5% and 2.5% of the properties value.

The purchaser / seller agreement, if not paid in full at the time of signing, is registered at the District Magistrate. The new title deed will not be signed until the purchase price is paid in full. Registration of this agreement protects the rights of the property purchaser.

The conditions for registry of the purchase agreement are:

   1. It contains the name of the property as officially registered by the municipal authorities
   2. The reference number of the land and the property
   3. The legal description of the property as laid out by the planning and building authorities
   4. The land and buildings number which has direct reference to its plots.

This information is obtained from the magistrate's office in the area where the property is situated, or your estate agent can obtain this from the Landskra Fasteigna.

The transfer and new registration of the title deed takes place at the Magistrates Office when all monies are in place, this costs ISK 1350, plus 0.4% of the official real estate valuation official real estate valuation.