Thanks to its French and Spanish pasts, the conveyancing process in Morocco is very similar to the European Continent. This means that while a public notary must by law oversee and rubber stamp a transaction it is still wise to hire an independent lawyer to safeguard your own personal interests.

A notary’s primary role is arranging the paperwork for a sale and checking it is all in order and both parties are present and correct at the signing of it; typically this will be the agreement for sale, binding sales contract and mortgage deed.

Another important task of the notary, who after all works for the State, is collecting the taxes. Notaries’ fees may seem high but this is because, as in France, they include government taxes (for example transfer tax) and registration (cadastre, mortgage). The actual notary fee is between 0.5 and 1 per cent - the percentage depends on the difficulty of the case.

On the other hand, you will be paying your lawyer to protect your own interests throughout the buying process. Typical of his tasks will be checking there are no debts on the house - in Morocco, debts stay with the property and not with the owner. The lawyer also makes sure that the seller owns the property - there may be multiple owners and each must agree to the purchase contract.

Your lawyer will also advise you on the terms of the contract, ensuring it favours your interest as much as possible. If you are buying off-plan this is especially important, as you will need to protect yourself against delayed completion and ensure your deposits are safe.

Start your hunt for a home in Morocco here…
If you’re searching for a Moroccan property, a good place to start is the Morocco Buying Guide’s new property search facility. To start your search now visit
http://www.moroccobuyingguide.com/content/morocco-properties