# Is it safe to buy property in Tenerife?



## anski (Aug 17, 2008)

We are contemplating moving to Tenerife from Cyprus. Cyprus has problems associated with buying property the main being Title Deeds. Many people have no Title Deeds despite having no mortgage & some have been waiting up to 25 years for theirs. Up until recently many expats were not concerned. Now with the world wide economic crisis they are worried. You see it is common practice when buying from large developers to pay cash for the property in full (no mortgage required) The developer then lodges the Title Deeds with his bank who in turn holds the Deeds as securityfor new loans to the developer thus enabling them to remain in business & keep building.

Up until now property owners were told it was a problem because the office resposible for issuing the Title Deeds was not up to speed, not connected to modern communication methods (internet) & that up to 10 different government departments were involved & they only communicae by letter! 
Until Title deeds are issued owners cannot make any changes ie: carports, pergolas, awnings on windows etc. If they do so owners are blamed for delays to the issuing of Title deeds.
A property owners action group has been silenced by a large developer & the owner of the website has been threatened with arrest should he re-enter Cyprus & all his property & assets seized. He set up the website on behalf of hisself as well as helping others with similar issues.
Now desperate owners are writing to MP's & HC & staging protests at UK exhibitions which promote property in Cyprus to draw attention to potential buyers of Cypriot property of the pitfalls. 

If we move to Tenerife I would eventually love to buy my own property again & wondered if it was safe to do so, or do similar practices exist there?

On arrival in Tenerife we would rent for 12 months to properly assess the situation
We are retired & cannot afford to make any mistakes by being ignorant of the pitfalls.
I am hoping some of you more experienced people could shed some light on the matter.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I live on the island of El Hierro, which is one of the four islands that make up the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. I have purchased two properties here, I have not had any problems.

You will be wise to rent for a period of time. If and when you buy use a reputable Estate Agent and if you are not a Spanish speaker get a good English speaking Canarian lawyer. When viewing property your first question should be ,"Is the property legal"?, Unfortunately there are illegally built properties here, hence the need for a good lawyer.

Hope this will be of help,

Hepa


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Hi Anski,
AS you probably know, many people have had huge problems buying property in Spain, for a variety of reasons, but a major stumbling block has been poor preparation. If you find out as much as you can about buying before you do it, which is obviously what you're trying to do, it shouldn't be any more risky than buying in the UK. There's loads of info on this site - just search - and on the net. Here's some sites to get you started

Tumbit - Property & Accomodation How to Guides & Articles

This blog from Mr. Grumpy which is to be continued and promises to be informative (and entertaining!) 
http://www.tumbit.com/blogs/775-how-not-to-buy-a-house-and-move-to-spain-pt-1.html


http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/buff/spain/faq/licence-of-first-occupation/

Buying Property in Spain

This site includes this useful info...

*The Escritura Publica and Nota Simple*

The Escritura Publica is the registered title deed of the property. It is entered in the 'Registro de la Propiedad', the Property Registry, and is the only guarantee of title in Spain. It contains a description of the property, the details of the owner and any mortgages or legal claims that exist against the property. This document is important because it tells yyou if the seller is the owner of the property being sold. A nota simple contains further details of any mortgages or charges against the property and is also available from the Registry.

*The Referencia Catastral*

Every property sale must quote the 'Referencia Catastral' of the property in question. The Catastro is another system of property registration in Spain, concentrating on the location, physical description and boundaries of the property. While the Property Registry focuses almost exclusively on ownership and title, the Catastro is concerned with property valuation. 
These two systems do not communicate with each other, and it is common to find that the catastral description of a property differs greatly from the one in the Property Registry. It is a good idea to request the actual certificate from the Catastro with a full description of the property. The certificate is in two parts, one being a description of the property and 
the other being either a plan or an aerial photograph

Should be enough to be going on with!


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## anski (Aug 17, 2008)

Hi Hepa & Pesky Wesky,

Thanks for your input and advice. I will check it all out.


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## littleredrooster (Aug 3, 2008)

Much depends on the type of property you are considering.
In the case of an apartment in an edificio or communidad its best to rent there first and you will soon get lots of info regarding any issues in the complex itself from other owners.
Thereafter buying should be fairly troublefree providing you appoint your own independant lawyer.
Property out in el campo in Tenerife is a completely different ball game with a thousand and one potential pitfalls.
I looked at many outlying fincas and such like myself over a period of quite a few years but always had to back out for one reason or another mainly relating to deeds and ownership,quite a few not even having any deeds at all.
One major problem with Tenerife,more so than most other places,is the number of ppl who went of to C. America and never came back.
Whilst there may still be family members in TF claiming outright ownership of a property,it is often not always the case and sometimes difficult to be sure either way, and there is always a chance that another family member or their progeny could turn up and put a claim in or slap an embargo on the place.
Let the buyer beware.


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## JJRR (May 3, 2010)

As pesky pointed out, the best thing you can do is ask for the "Nota simple informativa" of the property. That's something that everyone should do when looking to buy any property.

You will only need to know the details of the location of the property to ask for the informative note, and pay a small fee. About 3 days later you will know the owner of the property, and any potential problems such as loans, charges etc.

About illegal construction, you should be watchfull specially if you are looking for a villa instead a flat. In canary islands is quite common for people just to "extend" their homes when they are able to. If looking for a flat, and that's the atic, you should be carefull aswell, as is very common in canary islands to construct over the common parts of the building in the attics...

snip

Cheers!


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