# Buying property in Spain



## reggieblue (Jan 16, 2014)

HI all, brand new member looking for some help/direction.

I intend to retire to Spain in 10 ish years time. I will buy a few years before I come and use my place as a holiday home for the family. Reading a few articles, it seems the markets in Spain have 10 timesthe level of unsold property vs the property transactions per year, which would infer a few years at least before supply/demand are more balanced. Based on that would the experience of the people living in Spain agree with that and I would be wise to sit on my cash until then ?

i would appreciate any opinions on this, thx


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

I think it might be more like 100x to be truthful & many of them won't get finished/sold on as they are poor positons, badly built ,have irregular/illegal licences, etc.
It also depends on what you want to buy & how much you have to spend. If you can look upon it as money you can afford to 'lose' ,I.e. not going to be desperate to sell at any point then there are some bargains to be had.
I passed a nice flat for sale in the outskirts of Alicante recently. Older build in a reasonable area & not surrounded by any other blocks, 3 kms from beach, 3bed,1 bath ,lounge kitchen , etc, 26,500€ ! & a bonus of 6€/month community charge !!

There would be nothing worse than buying in an area , then finding it is not where you want to be. You'll then have great difficulty selling again. That is why many say to rent for a while & get to know the local & surrounding areas.
If you are not coming for 10 years then you have plenty of time to wait & watch.If things start to pick up then buy if you want.


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## doro (Aug 1, 2010)

Reggieblue, Hi and welcome to forum.

I'll give you my honest opinion. You can buy now, even the prices are still falling, you will still pay a lot of nothing. You make the idea.. "The finished" building per mp is around 1700 euro. In my opinion spanish property's are super over priced. Point.

BUT, if you have time, I can give you a super solution. Check the area where you want to move (do a little of research), get a piece of land, and build your home with latest passive house plans, and you get arround 300-400 euro / mp even if you import it from Germany. It takes you 1 week to have it up (no joke here, check google passive houses tech). And even if you dont want passive tech, you can still build around 500-600 euro per square metter. And you have the biggest advantage that you build what you like and not forced to buy something what you may not like to much.

/cheers


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

reggieblue said:


> Based on that would the experience of the people living in Spain agree with that and I would be wise to sit on my cash until then ?


It's hard to know what to do isn't it?

On the one hand you have the Spanish property market which as you've rightly pointed out has far more properties available than current demand which is depressing prices. On the other hand you're sitting on a pot of cash that is not only earning peanuts in the bank but getting eroded by inflation year on year.

The temptation therefore would be to use that money to invest in a Spanish property that you could use as a holiday home whilst you run down to retirement. But bear in mind there are running costs attached to doing this in the region of €1-3k a year depending on the property.

I think the Spanish property market is going to stay this way for the immediate future and I don't see anything happening for at least 5-10 years possibly longer. I also think interest rates are going to rise at some point in the near future which rather suggests you might be better off holding on before buying your Spanish property.

The other aspect you might want to think about is what the £ is going to do against the €. If you think the £ is going to weaken against the € you might be better off buying now and if you think it will strengthen, hold on.

Lots of things to consider.

My instincts would be to hold on, unless you particularly want a holiday home to use in the meantime and are happy to pay the running costs.


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

doro said:


> Check the area where you want to move (do a little of research), get a piece of land...


Buying land is certainly a wise and smart move particularly if you ensure it has planning permission. The bonus is you don't pay any taxes on land, so it would cost you nothing to keep. 

Then as you say, simply build a property on it when you're ready.

It's not a solution everyone would want though as not everyone wants the hassle and stress of building a property!


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## doro (Aug 1, 2010)

zenkarma said:


> Buying land is certainly a wise and smart move particularly if you ensure it has planning permission. The bonus is you don't pay any taxes on land, so it would cost you nothing to keep.
> 
> Then as you say, simply build a property on it when you're ready.
> 
> It's not a solution everyone would want though as not everyone wants the hassle and stress of building a property!


Not a big deal, you can stay with rend a month or so until your house is up. Even more. Consider also, the "stress" could also save you lots of money. And you don't build it yourself, there are a lot of small teams who do this, you just supervise if you like.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

zenkarma said:


> Buying land is certainly a wise and smart move particularly if you ensure it has planning permission. The bonus is you don't pay any taxes on land, so it would cost you nothing to keep.
> 
> Then as you say, simply build a property on it when you're ready.
> 
> It's not a solution everyone would want though as not everyone wants the hassle and stress of building a property!


There are taxes on land. Here it is once the value is above 1250€ , which equates to about 5000m2.
Admittedly it is not much.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

zenkarma said:


> Buying land is certainly a wise and smart move particularly if you ensure it has planning permission. The bonus is you don't pay any taxes on land, so it would cost you nothing to keep.
> 
> Then as you say, simply build a property on it when you're ready.
> 
> It's not a solution everyone would want though as not everyone wants the hassle and stress of building a property!


Ooops - you do!

We have about 7000 m2 and pay about 15 euros per year. It's not much, but the door is certainly open for them to increase this figure.


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## reggieblue (Jan 16, 2014)

Some great points. We plan to come over maybe 3 times a year from now on and rent the kinds of places we are looking to buy in areas we are thinking of so we can get an idea of life there.

Definitely not interested in a land purchase, looking at buying a very modern 3/4 bed place. Ideally larger than avg plot with plenty of space, pool etc. I do have legal and accounting relatives based in Burgos/Madrid who may help me in the process, but would prefer the simplicity of a pre owned property.

Waiting also gives me a better chance of knowing the right value to spend based on how my "pot" keeps over time.

Thanks for comments and help. Any opinions on local agents ?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

reggieblue said:


> Some great points. We plan to come over maybe 3 times a year from now on and rent the kinds of places we are looking to buy in areas we are thinking of so we can get an idea of life there.
> 
> Definitely not interested in a land purchase, looking at buying a very modern 3/4 bed place. Ideally larger than avg plot with plenty of space, pool etc. I do have legal and accounting relatives based in Burgos/Madrid who may help me in the process, but would prefer the simplicity of a pre owned property.
> 
> ...




Local to where - Spain's a big country? 

[or did you mention where you'de like to move to earlier and I just missed it?]


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## reggieblue (Jan 16, 2014)

Yes Costa Calida is where I'm looking at
thx


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

idealista.com
fotocasa.es

Are both online property portals that feature properties from a variety of Estate Agents as well as direct from owners. Most of the Estate Agent properties will have links back to their home pages. They're both good places to start browsing the areas you're interested in to get a feel for what you can get within your budget.

They should also give you an idea of the Estate Agents covering the areas you're interested in.


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Gus and Snikpoh thanks for the correction on the land taxes. I wasn't aware there were any. Exactly what are these taxes and how are they charged?


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## reggieblue (Jan 16, 2014)

Thanks for your answer, I'll be looking them up
thx


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

zenkarma said:


> Gus and Snikpoh thanks for the correction on the land taxes. I wasn't aware there were any. Exactly what are these taxes and how are they charged?


It's just like IBI - the town hall debits our bank account at the same time as it collects IBI and the basura. The pieces of paperwork look very similar.

On the paper it says "Impost de bens inmobles - RUSTICA" (valencian of course). Back in 2011 the bill was 11.90 for 0.6668Ha and a valor cadastral of 1333.12


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> It's just like IBI - the town hall debits our bank account at the same time as it collects IBI and the basura. The pieces of paperwork look very similar.
> 
> On the paper it says "Impost de bens inmobles - RUSTICA" (valencian of course). Back in 2011 the bill was 11.90 for 0.6668Ha and a valor cadastral of 1333.12


Yes it is similar here except for the fact that if the land value is below 1250€'s then the council say that the tax isn't worth collecting. My land value is only 656€. so I don't pay for the land , just the house. My property is a registered finca & is divided , for tax purposes, into 3 sections.
A= land in production = olives.
B= land not in production= outbuildings
C=house


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Gus and Snikpoh thank you for your detailed replies—that's really useful information to know.


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## raimik (Jan 8, 2014)

*Buying House in Spain*

Hi all, 
I would like to discuss about my decision. I live in UK nearly 6 yeras with my boyfriend. we came from Slovakia...permanetly working ...job ok ...but weather in Uk is killing me ...
as well as paying rent are lost money. I was thinking about mortage in UK but with my ability to invest about £30000 so still 15 years repayment. 
So if I will invest my money into property in Spain I can buy house and live in nice and warm place  ...
But also we have to work ...and in Spain seems to me unpossible to find any work ...so only one way is working in UK ( 24 hrs live-in care 3 weeks rota ) and living in Spain. 
What you think ??? ...just tell me if I only dreaming about impossibilities..or dream can be real with money for house and idea for work ....thank you for all advice !!!


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## Auen (Jan 17, 2014)

I also have a quick question about buying property in Spain. My wife and are relatively young and are not looking to retire quite yet. We are, however, looking to purchase a vacation home with the possibility of retiring there once our kids are out of the house. We are both American citizens. We've lived in Europe before, but not in Spain. From reading through this forum's FAQ and the consulate's website I think I have a general understanding of how it works. Aside from a good real estate agent and attorney, is the NIE number all we need to start looking?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Auen said:


> I also have a quick question about buying property in Spain. My wife and are relatively young and are not looking to retire quite yet. We are, however, looking to purchase a vacation home with the possibility of retiring there once our kids are out of the house. We are both American citizens. We've lived in Europe before, but not in Spain. From reading through this forum's FAQ and the consulate's website I think I have a general understanding of how it works. Aside from a good real estate agent and attorney, is the NIE number all we need to start looking?


Yep, pretty much.

You might need the appropriate visa although as it's just a holiday home I don't know.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Auen said:


> I also have a quick question about buying property in Spain. My wife and are relatively young and are not looking to retire quite yet. We are, however, looking to purchase a vacation home with the possibility of retiring there once our kids are out of the house. We are both American citizens. We've lived in Europe before, but not in Spain. From reading through this forum's FAQ and the consulate's website I think I have a general understanding of how it works. Aside from a good real estate agent and attorney, is the NIE number all we need to start looking?





snikpoh said:


> Yep, pretty much.
> 
> You might need the appropriate visa although as it's just a holiday home I don't know.



no visa required for purchasing property - only to LIVE in it

Auen - you say that's your long-term plan, & if you wouldn't be buying property here otherwise, it would be worth your while checking out resident/retirement visa requirements


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## Auen (Jan 17, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> no visa required for purchasing property - only to LIVE in it
> 
> Auen - you say that's your long-term plan, & if you wouldn't be buying property here otherwise, it would be worth your while checking out resident/retirement visa requirements


Thank you for the prompt answers. I have looked into the requirements for a residency visa, but my wife and I are only in our late twenties. Although she was medically retired from the military and we already meet what I understand to be the minimum prerequisites in terms of annual pension/health insurance, it will be another sixteen years until I can retire. It would be wishful thinking to believe the requirements will be the same then as they are now. That said, I'm satisfied with owning a vacation property in Spain without having the possibility to become a resident down the road.


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## HopefulMadrid (Jan 22, 2014)

*Buying a Property in Spain*

I am looking to buy a property in Spain. Wonder if anyone has any experience on it. I am not looking for a mortgage. Looking for a property to live in. What I really wanted to know and cannot find the information on websites is how long does it take, in terms of timeline? Days, weeks, months. I just wanted a guideline so I know when is the best time to look and put an offer on one.


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## HopefulMadrid (Jan 22, 2014)

doro said:


> Reggieblue, Hi and welcome to forum.
> 
> I'll give you my honest opinion. You can buy now, even the prices are still falling, you will still pay a lot of nothing. You make the idea.. "The finished" building per mp is around 1700 euro. In my opinion spanish property's are super over priced. Point.
> 
> ...


This is interesting, I never even thought about buying land. Fantastic option. Do you have any links to Germany?


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## doro (Aug 1, 2010)

HopefulMadrid said:


> This is interesting, I never even thought about buying land. Fantastic option. Do you have any links to Germany?


I am dont have my favs with me right now, but you can check Contemporary villas in spain, prefabs and steel frame houses, eco construction in spain, green living, contemporary houses, developers kit houses, eco resorts - Eco Build (Spain) to make an idea. All passive houses are considered eco also, because of the new technologie used what is superior for temperature transfer that traditional.

If you are out of time, just to a google search or even youtube, there are plenty of providers and builders. The price is around 250-400 euro per m2.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

HopefulMadrid said:


> I am looking to buy a property in Spain. Wonder if anyone has any experience on it. I am not looking for a mortgage. Looking for a property to live in. What I really wanted to know and cannot find the information on websites is how long does it take, in terms of timeline? Days, weeks, months. I just wanted a guideline so I know when is the best time to look and put an offer on one.


If you are paying cash then it can be done very quickly - I've known people to purchase within a couple of weeks of having an offer accepted. All you have to do is draw up a contract (contrato Arras) and set a date with a notary. Having said that, you'll probably want to use an abogado to do the contract and to check the nota simple for any outstanding debts, etc, so that may add on some time. Probably the biggest delay might come from the sellers if the property is currently occupied - they'll obviously need to sort out their move somewhere else.

Beware that the reason it's so quick is that not so thorough searches are carried out as in the UK, and if you don't get a mortgage then you can't rely on the bank to survey the property and provide a valuation.


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## HopefulMadrid (Jan 22, 2014)

Yes, I am thinking I need a builder to go and see the property if I go down that route. I am looking at land and trying to figure out if that is a better option.

I see there is a note about prices. What kind of price offer can be given at the moment? The houses I am looking at are no more than 45k some are in good condition, others not so in good condition. Without searches like in the UK which will give an indication of how much the property is worth. How else can you determine the best price to get a property if everyone is overpriced?


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

HopefulMadrid said:


> Yes, I am thinking I need a builder to go and see the property if I go down that route. I am looking at land and trying to figure out if that is a better option.
> 
> I see there is a note about prices. What kind of price offer can be given at the moment? The houses I am looking at are no more than 45k some are in good condition, others not so in good condition. Without searches like in the UK which will give an indication of how much the property is worth. *How else can you determine the best price to get a property if everyone is overpriced?*


That's the million dollar question. Actual sales price data is not published in Spain, so few people really know what prices are actually being paid. If you are looking at flats that have consierges it is always worth asking them - they know a lot about what properties have sold for within the block and the surrounding area. They also know about any problems that tend to occur with the flats in the block. Also you should get the details of the Admistrador - the person chosen by the community to handle the finances and purchases. For example, if regular maintenance is carried out to fix problems with flats they'll know about it.

Apart from that, my tactic has been to track properties in idealista and see which properties sell. Many hang around for years, at the same asking price, so the market price must be much lower.

As a rule of thumb, I wouldn't offer more than 80% of current asking prices, unless it's a property that I really want, and that I know is good value. If you want to get best value as an investment then I'd go round making low offers until somebody bites. There are desperate people out there.

Out of interest, where are you looking to buy?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

HopefulMadrid said:


> Yes, I am thinking I need a builder to go and see the property if I go down that route. I am looking at land and trying to figure out if that is a better option.
> 
> I see there is a note about prices. What kind of price offer can be given at the moment? The houses I am looking at are no more than 45k some are in good condition, others not so in good condition. Without searches like in the UK which will give an indication of how much the property is worth. How else can you determine the best price to get a property if everyone is overpriced?


We had a thread running on this some time ago. It's really what YOU think the property is worth. After all, you are not buying it to make a profit (I hope) so it's really what you want to pay for a home. If a property is on at say, 50k, then (as per UK) you can always make an offer but at the end of the day, it's your decision.

Also, I personally would recommend that you steer clear of buying land with the intention of building on it. There have been too many horror stories that I would simply not go that route.


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## HopefulMadrid (Jan 22, 2014)

Chopera said:


> That's the million dollar question. Actual sales price data is not published in Spain, so few people really know what prices are actually being paid. If you are looking at flats that have consierges it is always worth asking them - they know a lot about what properties have sold for within the block and the surrounding area. They also know about any problems that tend to occur with the flats in the block. Also you should get the details of the Admistrador - the person chosen by the community to handle the finances and purchases. For example, if regular maintenance is carried out to fix problems with flats they'll know about it.
> 
> Apart from that, my tactic has been to track properties in idealista and see which properties sell. Many hang around for years, at the same asking price, so the market price must be much lower.
> 
> ...


I am looking to buy in Albalat dels Tarongers, Valencia. I have already seen a house, it needs too much work doing to it. I am only looking at houses with land. I am thinking in time I can build little bungalows and rent them as holiday rentals. It is only 20 km from Valencia so that is good for children´s schools too. I am looking at long term, so I am not worried about prices going up or down just more concerned about getting as low a price as possible.


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

HopefulMadrid said:


> I am thinking in time I can build little bungalows and rent them as holiday rentals.


Oh dear...!



HopefulMadrid said:


> ...so I am not worried about prices going up or down just more concerned about getting as low a price as possible.


Oh dear oh dear...!

It seems to me you need to do an awful lot of research before you're let anywhere near a property in Spain for sale.

Just my opinion of course.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

HopefulMadrid said:


> I am looking to buy in Albalat dels Tarongers, Valencia. I have already seen a house, it needs too much work doing to it. I am only looking at houses with land. I am thinking in time I can build little bungalows and rent them as holiday rentals. It is only 20 km from Valencia so that is good for children´s schools too. I am looking at long term, so I am not worried about prices going up or down just more concerned about getting as low a price as possible.


Is there a demand for holiday rentals there? Would schools be a requirement for someone interested in a holiday rental? Not that I know the place, but it doesn't strike me as a place many people would head to for their holidays. Also you'll have to understand the tax implications as well as licensing, etc for renting out.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

The biggest problem you will have is that in the Valencia region, you need a minimum of 10000 m2 of land per property - and that's IF you can get a licence.

A non-starter in my opinion.


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## HopefulMadrid (Jan 22, 2014)

The property has the land size of 1,000 sq. metres. I am looking to live there with my children. These are options I am looking at while looking at houses. So, it is not a case of I am going to do holiday rentals, but I need to do my homework before I go down this route.

As, for looking at buying properties in Spain, I know I have a long way. I am planning to research to find the best property in the right area.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Buying a property in Spain is nothing like buying in the UK - or anywhere else and building on the land is a major undertaking with so many rules, regs, permits,......!!!! But the forum Is a good place to start the learning process

Jo xxx


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## Emillio (Jan 25, 2014)

If you whant to build a house in Spain you have to start rom site selection and verification of source documentation for the selected parcel of land, which involves consultation in the town hall, in the department of architecture, inventory, tax office and register on permitted construction and building regulations and restrictions in this area.

- Receive a confirmation on the status area (land in Spain is divided into: for individual construction, commercial construction, agricultural land);

- Find the coefficient of building / land area is bound to /, the amount of internal space and a height restriction of building a house on this site
- Set the distance from the road (street) and the fence neighbor (who owns the fence) \ in this case it is recommended to hire a surveyor and topography make the site get your hands on the certificate

- Find out what communications are available on the site and where they are located, whether there is a public lighting, electricity, water, gas, sewer, telephone; 
- Make sure that the municipal taxes paid on time, also introduced in this section of the inventory and whether cadastral number

Before the construction necessary to take several steps :

- Choose the architect and book project, you can use the project and england´s architects, but only as an idea, based on which a licensed local architect will make future oject .
- On the basis of the project ( the first phase of the project will be sufficient to base ) to apply for a construction license (licencia de obra mayor) architecture in the City Hall , municipal fees and pay a license fee (2.5 %), and taxes (2.5 %). Ie about 5% ( depending on the municipality ) of the estimated cost of construction, said in the memo of the project

- After submission of documents for a license architect must make the second part of the project (project works). In the presence of a building permit and the second part of the project can proceed to construction. Do not forget that having a license is obligatory (!).


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

HopefulMadrid said:


> The property has the land size of 1,000 sq. metres. I am looking to live there with my children. These are options I am looking at while looking at houses. So, it is not a case of I am going to do holiday rentals, but I need to do my homework before I go down this route.
> 
> As, for looking at buying properties in Spain, I know I have a long way. I am planning to research to find the best property in the right area.


How many properties are you hoping to build on 1000 m2???????????????

In the Valencia region you need 10000m2 for just ONE property. In Andalucia, you need 30000m2 per property (ISTR)!!

You need a LOT of land to contemplate multiple properties and this is only usually found in the campo. Campo land is, generally, classified as rustic and so will NOT be granted a licence to build anything - catch 22!


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