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Costa
Calida Property Guide
Costa
Blanca Property Guide Costa
Dorada Property Guide
Costa
Del Azahar Property Guide
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Rate: Click
here for exchange rate details
Spain covers a large area of land and is blessed with
sunny weather for most of the year which makes it a particular favourite
with expatriates from other EU countries.
Weather Info Here.
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Capital
gains tax is not charged for residents who sell their main residence
but is charged on second home sale and is reduced annually
for inflation and
length of ownership.
You should officially note any money or funds brought into Spain
so any sale proceeds can be restored.
There are no restrictions on Foreign Ownership.
Real
Estate Prices in Spain
Range
Varies, for example:
From around £40,000 / $75,000 for inland properties in need of restoration
(check for water supplies).
From around £55,000 / $100,000 for apartment style homes on the Costas
(Canaries and Balearics come at a premium of over 15%).
Small villas from £85,000 / $155,000.
Larger villas from £120,000 / $220,000.
Exclusive homes especially near Marbella can be into the millions.
Locations
to buy real estate in Spain
Coastal
resorts of Spain such as the Costa del Sol and Blanca are popular
especially for winter sun as well as the Canary and Balearic Islands
(Majorca etc). Madrid and Barcelona offer a cosmopolitan feel and
stunning architecture. You will generally have to go inland for bargain
homes, but be aware of mains services.
Living
Costs in Spain
Spain
enjoys a good quality of life with general consumer goods and property
being favourably priced compared to incomes, which reflects in its
popularity for retirement homes.
Buying
real estate in Spain
Buying
a Spanish property will normally be contained in a private contract
with a deposit of around 10% payable which is binding by law. It
is possible to agree a contract where either party may change their
minds at a financial cost. The private contract should contain details
of the agreed deposit payment, purchase price and details for payment
of the outstanding balance of the agreed buying price plus any additional
extras and your intended completion. A Notary will prepare the official
contracts and make sure it complies with Spanish regulations. If
there is common ownership a Community of Owners must be established
through which community charges can be shared. If your property is
contained in an apartment block then the law will relate to the Horizontal
Division and this should be clarified, especially in new developments.
Any property sale or purchase in Spain should be registered in the
Land Registry and its important to make sure any relevant taxes are
paid before this is done.
Please note:
It is common practice for the sale and purchase price to be understated by
Spanish sellers, enabling them to reduce their tax liability and reducing your
stamp duty fees. However, you could be liable for Capital Gains tax on additional
profit once the true price is declared and non residents will normally be expected
to deposit 5% of the sale proceeds with local tax offices until any agreements
are reached, and could have liability by both seller and buyer if the profits
or in excess of set limits around Pt2,000,000.
Fees
You
would expect to pay a total of around 10% of the purchase price for
real estate in Spain. This could include Stamp duty, charged at 7%
of the official selling price (4.5% for the Canaries), and 0.5% for
contract documents Land Registry is charged against a rateable table
held by local authorities. There will also be a tax on the increase
of the land your property lies on since it was last sold and should
be paid by the vendor. Notary fees will also be included in the total
costs.
Property Tax
All
your Spanish property taxes will be based on the official price registered,
not on selling prices and you would expect to pay under 1% annually,
plus additional service taxes set by the local authority. Wealth
tax charges apply for residents after 17m ptas of net assets; if
you don’t apply for residency you could be charged tax for all your
net assets. Rate varies from fractions of a percent to over 2% depending
on net assets.
Click Here for more info.
Mortgages
Spanish
lenders will allow you to borrow against Spanish property and can
usually be arranged in most major currencies normally over terms
of up to 15 years, with exception of 25 years at up to 80% of the
buying price. Click here to arrange a mortgage in Spain.
For more information on buying property in Spain, please contact the Real Estate
Agent or visit the Spanish Governments website:
www.mae.es
Our guide will not cover all the legal and full financial information for your
Real Estate purchase but should enable you to get an idea into the financial
involvement.
Click here for further
information about property in Spain
THE
FIRST STEP IS TO GET SOME THINGS CLEAR YOUR MIND:
- How
much do you want to spend?
- What’s
the property for - holiday getaway, to start a
new life, retirement or investment?
- How
much room do you want - for yourselves, visitors or tenants?
- Accessibility - can
you get there easily from home and how easy it is to get to the
towns and services within Spain?
- How
much work you are prepared to put into the property yourself - or
pay to have done?
- Then
there’s the
fun stuff - what you want to do with your
Spanish home once there, whether it’s to
get to the beach, play golf, work or enjoy the
nightlife?
AND WHEREVER
IN SPAIN YOU BUY THERE ARE BASIC THINGS YOU’LL
NEED TO DO:
- Get a lawyer
(absolutely essential) - an
independent lawyer experienced in both Spanish and UK property
law. A purely-British or
purely-Spanish
lawyer will not have the right knowledge of both systems to be
able to give you all the help you need.
- Fix a budget for the whole
operation. Ask yourselves what is the maximum that you want to
spend, including any repairs or improvements,
plus taxes and fees. Be realistic: assume renovations will cost more,
not less.
WHEN
YOU’RE PICKING A PART
OF SPAIN IN WHICH TO BUY, AGAIN, BREAK THINGS DOWN INTO
BASIC POINTS:
- How close do you want to be to a beach?
And if it has to be a sunny beach, then you can only look
along the Mediterranean costa's, the Costa
de la Luz and in the islands, the Balearics and the Canaries.
There are many attractive places just an hour or so inland, especially
behind
the Costa del Sol.
- How much sun do you really want? For
reliable sunshine for at least ten months a year, you should only
look at the Costa del Sol,
Almeria and Murcia, the Costa Blanca (the southern half rather than the
north), Ibiza and the Canaries. Anywhere north of Valencia the
true Mediterranean
sun is only likely to come out from about Easter to October,
and
winters can be cool and wet.
- How much do you want to be near other
ex-pats and English speakers, and English speaking facilities?
In many places
around the
costa's there are big clusters of foreign homeowners, with all sorts of English-or
other-language speaking services, from shops to lawyers.
Many divide
by nationality - some developments are 100% English-
speakers, others 100% German. The largest concentration
of British ex-pats is
on the Costa del Sol, and next on Costa Blanca, Mallorca
and the Canaries. If, on the other hand, you don’t
want to be surrounded by ex-pats or hear the English football
results every time
you walk into a bar,
avoid these parts.
- How much do you really want to play
golf? There are over thirty golf courses along the Costa
del Sol and the next biggest clusters
are in southern Costa Blanca and the La Manga area of Murcia. Golf courses
are scarcer from the northern Costa Blanca upwards.
- How
much do you want to go out, be close to culture, and be part
of Spanish life in general? If you want to have a choice
of music, clubs, films and be in touch with young Spaniards, ignore the costa's
and
head for one of the main cities, Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia.
- How
much do you want to get away from it all? Among the most popular
places for finding rural retreats in Spain are the
mountains inland from the Costa del Sol such as the Serrania de Ronda and the
Alpujarras
of Granada, which have the bonus that you can get
down to the beach in an hour or so, but this popularity has led
to rising prices.
In
the north, the mountains of Asturias and Cantabria
are a beautiful area where you can find old houses (probably in need of work)
for low
prices - but be prepared for cold winters.
For more information on Spanish Property and to arrange your viewing
visit:
Spanish Property
Search:
Spanish
Property Search
Costa
Del Sol Property Guide
Costa
Calida Property Guide
Costa
Blanca Property Guide Costa
Dorada Property Guide
Costa
Del Azahar Property Guide Costa
Almeria Property Costa
De La Luz Property Guide Costa
Brava Property Guide
Balearic
Island Property Guide Canary
Island Property Guide
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