Sales Contract
A contract of sale is an agreement between two parties whereby a person (the seller) agrees to deliver a certain thing to another (the buyer) in exchange for an amount of money. Therefore, this contract entails a series of obligations and rights for each of the parties.
In a contract of sale the seller agrees to deliver something to the buyer in exchange for an amount of money.
This contractual figure is one of the most important and is regulated in articles 1.445 and following of the Civil Code.
In spite of the fact that there are many types of purchase and sale contracts (civil or commercial, in installments, with a reservation of ownership, with deposit, with mortgage guarantee …), below we see the characteristics, elements and general obligations of this type of contracts.
Features of the sale
This contract is mainly characterized by being:
-Bilateral, produces obligations for both parties.
-Onerous, supposes benefits and reciprocal charges for both parties.
-On the one hand, it is consensual for movable property, since the perfection of this contract is produced by the mere consent between the parties. And, on the other hand, it is formal for real estate because it must always be in writing.
-Transfer domain, because it serves to transfer ownership.
-Finally, it is the main form of acquisition and exchange of wealth.
Elements of the contract of sale
A contract of sale consists of three elements: object, subject and price.
1.Parts or subjects: the seller and the buyer (both can be natural or legal persons).
- Price: value or amount of money that is demanded in exchange for a thing and that, as a general rule, has to be determined, real and fair.
- Object: goods or rights that are within the trade.
Obligations in the contract of sale
The contract of sale entails the following legal obligations for the seller: keep the object of the sale, transfer the property, make the delivery at the agreed time and place and the obligation of sanitation (for eviction and hidden defects).
On the other hand, the buyer will be obliged to pay the price and pay the expenses (such as those of registration in the property registry or the expenses related to the real rights tax) and interest (for example, late payment interest in case proceed).
