Essential Guide to Buying Spanish Homes

This guide to buying Spanish homes will take you on a step by step journey through the whole process of selecting your ideal area, property type and solicitor and will give advice on completing your purchase and taking possession of your Spanish homes.

1. Deciding on Your Budget – The first important decision to make when starting out to buy Spanish homes is setting your budget. Buying a home in the sun should be an enjoyable experience, don’t ruin it by getting yourself into financial difficulty – choose a budget and stand by it.

2. Selecting an Area – The location of your chosen Costa Blanca property is also a very important decision that you will have to make. Familiarize yourself with some different areas and ask around – the locals who live there are the best source of information on a particular area.

3. New or Resale Property? – This may be more of a personal preference than an important decision when buying Spanish homes, although getting it wrong could cause problems later on. If you have already decided on new or resale then that is fine, stick to your decision and look at what is available, if you haven’t then look at both. New is okay if you don’t mind waiting some time for your finished property (you may even want to wait). Resale property can be bought and moved into within a month and you can see what you are getting and what will be around you (in terms of buildings), this is more difficult to see with new property as plans often change, and it is difficult to visualize the final layout of an urbanization.

4. Property Type - The next consideration is the property type – house, villa, apartment, bungalow, the choice of Spanish homes is endless. This will mostly be determined by personal choice and, of course, once again – budget. You may also at this stage wish to consider if you want a property on an urbanization or have some solitude in the countryside. There are advantages to both, urbanizations can be noisy during the busy summer months but they are generally safe and child friendly. The countryside can be peaceful, but how far is it to the nearest shop or restaurant? What about when the family or friends visit – is it the type of holiday they would be looking for? Also, you may want some kind of social life, there are lots of things to consider before making your final choice.

5. Choosing Your Property – Going out and looking at potential properties is probably the most enjoyable part of the whole process of buying Spanish homes, so have fun but always keep in mind your previous decisions on property type, location and most important, budget. Be certain to take a camera with you and a notebook to keep detailed notes which you can use later to make a short list. If you have a video camera, you could keep a video diary of your day this will help with your short list. When you have compiled a decent short list, go back and see all those properties once more, the first look goes by in a flash and it is essential to take a second or even third look before you make a decision.

6. Paying a Deposit – When you have made your decision and chosen your dream Spanish home the next step will be to pay a deposit. The standard deposit in Spain is 3,000 euros, after payment of which, the property will be taken off the market. The next step will depend on whether you are buying a new property or a resale property. If it is new then in around 30 days you will be required to pay perhaps 30% of the final price, followed possibly by stage payments during building, but more likely payment of the balance on completion. If you are buying resale property then it should be just the deposit, with the final balance due on completion (signing at the Notary).

7. Picking a Solicitor – Your next job is to appoint a Spanish property solicitor, try to get one who speaks good English and who explains everything to you in a way that you understand. He (or she) will help you throughout the buying process and answer any questions you might have regarding the purchase. He will check that there is no debt remaining on the property, and be there at the Notary office to explain everything you need to know before signing. He should also help you after the signing, to change the name on contracts and bills (ie. Community fees, SUMA, water and electricity), and for a relatively small annual fee he will also make your Spanish tax returns for you.

8. Taxes and Costs – These amount in total to about 10%-12% of the purchase price of your chosen Spanish home, be sure to allow for this in your budget. These costs include IVA (property Transfer Tax) which comes to 6% on new property puchase and 7% if you are buying a resale property, Plusvalia Tax, which is normally paid by the buyer and represents the appreciative value of the land that the property stands on, solicitors fees, Notary fees and mortgage fees (if you need a mortgage to buy the property). After signing and taking possession of your property you will become liable to pay Wealth Tax (non-residents), SUMA (local council tax for collecting rubbish, cleaning roads etc), community charges and solicitors fees for dealing with your tax affairs in Spain.

9. Signing the Deeds – Known as the Escritura in Spain, the property deeds are signed for at the Public Notary (the Notary is an official representative of the Spanish government). Yourself and anyone else who is to be named on the Escritura will be present at the Notary office, together with your solicitor. You will need your original passport and an N.I.E number (foreigners identification number), speak to your solicitor beforehand about obtaining one of these, you will need to go to a national police station. If you are unable to attend the signing for any reason you can give power of attorney to your solicitor and he will sign on your behalf.

10. Taking Possession of Your Property – When the Escritura (deeds) have been signed and the balance of the money paid, you should the take possession of the keys for your property. If it is a new property you should check it over carefully and compile a comprehensive snag list of any problems and defects, send a copy of this to your solicitor and make sure he gets onto the builder and also the agent who sold the property, so these things can be put right. I would advise that you now change the locks on any main entry doors (whether it is a new or resale property), you don’t know who has had keys – better to be safe than sorry afterwards. You will now need to change over all bills and contracts relating to the property into your name and take out some insurance on both the building and the contents. You may also want to organise the fitting of some security grills and perhaps an alarm system. Introduce yourself to the president of the community (if you are on an urbanization) he will inform you of any upcoming meetings.

11. Congratulations – You can now sit back and enjoy your place in the sun – your very own Spanish home.

This article on buying Spanish homes was written by Steve Locke who runs a holiday rental company in Cabo Roig, Spain. For details of Spanish homes for sale in the area check here:- Spanish Homes