Buying in Spain

Purchasing a property in Spain may be an excellent choice for those seeking an investment, a holiday home, or both.

Being a part of the Euro zone, Spain benefits from low interest rates with mortgages on offer at around 5%. Furthermore, they have seen capital growth in recent years even greater than that in the UK.

Spanish mortgages lend money based primarily upon a loan to value ratio. They will also take your credit history into account and most likely request a letter from your bank manager stating that you can afford the repayments.

Nowadays there are a number of reputable property sourcing firms in the UK who are able to do the hard work of locating a suitable property for you – be it an existing development, new build or off plan. It is likely that a larger firm will also be able to arrange the mortgage and act as your point of contact throughout the transaction.

Alternatively, you may choose to locate a property yourself. Where you do this, you will first need to engage a UK solicitor. The next step would be to ascertain your need for a mortgage, and decide on the type of property you would like (location, bedrooms, price etc).

Circulating your brief to property agents should provide you with sufficient properties of interest to justify a visit to your chosen location to undertake viewings. It is important to remember to contact the agents immediately prior to your departure from the UK to ensure that the properties you are interested in are still available.

Once you have found your property of choice, you pay your deposit monies to your solicitor. Upon doing this it is important that you compile an inventory of the fixtures which should remain in the property after the sale; as a number of Spanish properties are sold inclusive of furniture.

If you are buying a property managed by a community, your solicitor will ensure that community charges have been paid and are up-to-date for the completion date. If they previous owner has not made community payments the debt becomes yours!

You should expect to pay additional costs of around 10% of the purchase price of the property. If the property is new, the price may also be subjected to IVA (VAT) at the rate of 7%.

You do not necessarily have to attend for completion on the purchase of your property; your solicitor can complete the transaction on your behalf. Keys to your property must be handed over on the day of completion with the full legal possession given to you.

The fact that you have appointed a solicitor to act on your behalf will ensure that all required documents are in order and that you receive the title deed for the property in due course.

Finally, you will also need to arrange for the electricity, gas and telephones to be transferred to your name and we would advise you to arrange for a standing order to make these payments, as utility companies in Spain do not hesitate in disconnecting your services if your payments are late.

Fuel Spain