5 Documents Commonly Legalised For Selling and Buying Property Overseas

Many people dream of owning their own overseas holiday home and do not consider which documents are required for the process. When purchasing a property overseas you will need to provide proof of identity, proof of earnings and you may need to appoint someone to act on your behalf if you cannot be present to sign all documents. You will also need to consider what will happen after you have purchased the property if the worst should happen. Who will be left to deal with your estate and what will happen to the property?

Below we look at 5 of the most common documents we process for buying and selling a property overseas.

Power of Attorney

When purchasing or selling a property overseas it is not always possible to be present for every step of the process. It is common to appoint a person to act on your behalf. This could be a relative, friend or a solicitor who is assisting with the purchase or sale. In some cases the solicitor assisting with the purchase or sale can provide the document which you will then need to sign in the presence of a UK solicitor. Once this step has been completed we can assist with the apostille legalisation of your document.

Proof of earnings - P60/Bank statements

At the time of applying for a mortgage to purchase the property it is likely you will need to provide proof of earnings before the application will be approved. The most common document legalised for this purpose is your P60 document which displays your annual income. This type of document will need to be certified by a solicitor before the apostille can be issued. Our Solicitor certification and apostille service ensures your documents are legalised correctly.

Proof of Identity

In addition to proof of earnings it is likely you will also need to provide photo identification. Occasionally a copy of your passport can be attached to the power of attorney document, however if the authority overseas requires the document to be legalised with its own apostille you will need to have a copy certified by a solicitor before the apostille can be attached. We can provide our Solicitor certification and apostille service to legalise a copy of your passport.

Death Certificate

If the owner of a property is deceased then you will need to update the local authorities and provide evidence of the death. The UK death certificate can be legalised with the apostille and presented to the overseas authorities to transfer the property into a different person’s name. Using our apostille legalisation service will ensure the death certificate is legalised correctly for use overseas.

Will

In addition to legalising a death certificate it is also common to legalise a will if the owner of a property is deceased. The will can be legalised and presented to the overseas authority to show who inherits the property. The will must be signed by a UK solicitor before the apostille can be issued. Occasionally the individual making the will signs the document in the presence of a solicitor and in this instance the document will only require the apostille legalisation service. If it has not been witnessed by a solicitor then a certified copy will need to be produced. If the original is posted to our office we can provide our solicitor certification and apostille service.

These are some of the common documents we process for buying and selling property overseas but is not a complete list. We always advise checking with the overseas authorities to check which documents they require.