# Buying property in mainland Spain



## ynwa2001 (Apr 5, 2008)

Hi,
I have been living and working in Valencia for 18 months now and wondered what kind of documentation and deposit i would require to buy a property here. Is it difficult? I have my N.I.E and also my Social security along with payslips and around 10,000€ as a deposit, but unfortunately i can only get a rolling 6 month contract with my company rather than the "Life-time" one which is apparently a dead cert for getting a mortgage! Any help would be much appreciated, also are there any hidden fees that Estate agents charge such as fees to view properties etc?

Thanks!


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

ynwa2001 said:


> Hi,
> I have been living and working in Valencia for 18 months now and wondered what kind of documentation and deposit i would require to buy a property here. Is it difficult? I have my N.I.E and also my Social security along with payslips and around 10,000€ as a deposit, but unfortunately i can only get a rolling 6 month contract with my company rather than the "Life-time" one which is apparently a dead cert for getting a mortgage! Any help would be much appreciated, also are there any hidden fees that Estate agents charge such as fees to view properties etc?
> 
> Thanks!


Firstly, do not pay an estate agent to view a property! They are probably screwing the seller as it is by adding to the sales price as well as charging commission.

I assume you also have a residencia certificate?

At the end of the day a lender will treat you almost in the same way as the UK for a mortgage, they will want proof of income and of course they will take a charge against your property. So obviously if you lose your job, you may lose your home. 

I think we budgeted 10% of the property value for taxes, registery and legal costs when we bought

If you are buying in Valencia itself then property will be more expensive, but maybe consider buying on one of the towns on the train line North or South to lower the costs


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

AND WHAT EVER YOU DO - USE A "NOTARIO". 

We "escaped" some unpaid local back-taxes as we purchased "openly" with a "no debt aceptance" clause. 

Seen some folk recently (in the town hall) who've purchased privately only to find they cant do ANYTHING to the property they've bought - as the land classification has changed (and this has been a HUGE issue in Valencia!) or is now ENFORCED. So whilst the property cant be demolished they cant even put a new roof on. And as it's private sale - they're stuffed.


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## Davidakky (Oct 14, 2008)

*Spanish property purchase*

Being a Spanish tax resident does help and the length of time you have been working in Spain is also a bonus.
You will need to produce several documents initially to Spanish lenders:
Vida Laboral (work history in Spain)
6 months nominas (same employer)
6 months bank statements (confirms nominas)
Residencia
Passport
Employment contracts (all contracts from when you started work showing a history)
Employment reference
If you are under 35 years of age you will also benefit, depending on the region you buy in, of purchase tax reductions.
Shop around for mortgages and take your paperwork with you. The bank will copy them and assess your ability to purchase and may even offer an 'agreement in principal' which will detail your borrowing capacity.

David Atkinson


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Davidakky said:


> Being a Spanish tax resident does help and the length of time you have been working in Spain is also a bonus.
> You will need to produce several documents initially to Spanish lenders:
> Vida Laboral (work history in Spain)
> 6 months nominas (same employer)
> ...


Are mortgages still readily available in these current times though David?


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## Davidakky (Oct 14, 2008)

It does depend heavily on the client!
Many banks are now looking at the paperwork very closely which they certainly didnt do 5 years ago...hence lots of expats just packing up and leaving!
Basically most Spanish bank now like to look at the clients paperwork and make an assessment based on the facts rather than what they have been advised about.
Because I ask for the correct paperwork from the start I generally have a good hit rate as I know who will be declined in advance!


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

Davidakky said:


> It does depend heavily on the client!


And the seller!

I know of one bank that has issued "_recommendations_" to it's branches - in 2008 - NOT to look favourably on "non-Spanish to non-Spanish sales". More aimed at Non-EU but in high ex-pat areas COULD become an issue.


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## Davidakky (Oct 14, 2008)

Being independent I use 16 banks, Spanish and International, and know the terms and conditions for each one so I cater the bank to suit the clients own requirements.
During the intial discussion with the client I will ask the questions to not only confirm the buyers requirements but to make sure that the buyer fits into the criteria for the banks and then source the bank or banks to suit. I often submit more than one application for a client and play one bank off against another.
By doing this certain fees, the opening fee for example, or the interest rate, can be negotiated. If going direct banks will only inform buyers of their 'standard' products and wont negotiate on any front.
The most important part of a Spanish mortgage is the review rate! Mortgages in Spain are basically fixed for either 3 months, 6 months or a year and then rerviewed but sometimes this review rate could be Euribor (the Spanish base rate) +2 when the initial opening rate was +0.50 or 0.75 to 'get the client'.
Its simple things like this that many buyers are not aware of and a broker will certainly find out the right information to protect their client!


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## baxtercatuk (Nov 19, 2008)

you obviously do this for a living David but since when did you need residencia to buy? An NIE and passport is sufficient surley, also alot of banks only ask for 3 months nomina and certainly not as much history as you seem to be asking for I suspect that all of this can make your job easier but is not essential to the process, and yes I have a mortgage here. I normally send people to brokers, who do normally get 2.5 percent finders/arrangement fee.


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## algorfa (May 12, 2007)

ynwa2001 said:


> Hi,
> I have been living and working in Valencia for 18 months now and wondered what kind of documentation and deposit i would require to buy a property here. Is it difficult? I have my N.I.E and also my Social security along with payslips and around 10,000€ as a deposit, but unfortunately i can only get a rolling 6 month contract with my company rather than the "Life-time" one which is apparently a dead cert for getting a mortgage! Any help would be much appreciated, also are there any hidden fees that Estate agents charge such as fees to view properties etc?
> 
> Thanks!


Hi,
I have a friend who is an Englishman living in Valencia who sells property and has done for 15 years so will know the area well, if you would like to PM me with your contact details, I will put you in touch.

Dave


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## Davidakky (Oct 14, 2008)

baxtercatuk said:


> you obviously do this for a living David but since when did you need residencia to buy? An NIE and passport is sufficient surley, also alot of banks only ask for 3 months nomina and certainly not as much history as you seem to be asking for I suspect that all of this can make your job easier but is not essential to the process, and yes I have a mortgage here. I normally send people to brokers, who do normally get 2.5 percent finders/arrangement fee.


The enquiry stated a resident buying, that is why I included the residencia instead of the NIE. It is always advatageous, if living here as a tax resident, to obtain the residencia as this does increase various entitlements, only slightly, but there are advatages. Also, the documents are for residents and it is actually easier to aquire borrowing as a non-resident with 'overseas' income, especially Northern European than Spanish residents. In fact some of the documents required by employed residents are quite onerous and for self employed or autonimo residents there are even more documents required!


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