|
Buying a Property in Spain
Many of our guests have visited Vera
Playa, fallen in love with it and bought an apartment. We bought
ourselves on our first visit.
The Spanish system of buying
property is very different from the UK. Solicitors are generally less
involved than is normal in the UK. Most vendors and many purchasers
don't bother with solicitors. The whole process can be very swift, but
for we Brits it can be very scary!
Many English Naturists are buying an
apartment in Spain. Buying property in Spain is very different to the
UK, there are many potential pitfalls for the wary, here is some advice
based on our experience in Vera Playa.
Finding the right property
Coast or country, house or
apartment? First you need to consider your lifestyle, do you like to be
near to people or ‘far from the madding crowd?’ Country is cheaper,
coast has a more moderate climate, warmer in winter, cooler in summer.
Within the Naturist Zone, or just
near to the Naturist beach? How committed a naturist are you? Do you
want to live a naturist lifestyle or are you just a beach naturist? Are
your extended family a consideration? Naturist Urbanisations have rules
about nudity, particularly that nudity is compulsory in and around the
pool, but these are many people’s permanent homes, they are not naturist
clubs. If your family or friends are ‘naturist tolerant’ they will not
be forced to ‘join in’. People are very understanding, we all have some
family members that don’t join share our lifestyle.
What do you want to spend?
Apartments on the coast start from about 120,000 euros, detached villas
could be 400,000 to 1,000,000 euros or more.
Looking for a property in Spain can
be very difficult. The easiest way is to book one of these inspection
tours that are advertised in the UK. Certainly in the Vera Playa area,
you won’t attract any raised eyebrows if you ask for Naturist
properties. All estate agents have realised that the naturist market is
a strong one, and will happily show you naturist properties. What’s the
down side? First is cost. In Spain, estate agents add whatever sum
they want to the vendor’s asking price, it is not unheard of for the
sort of companies that organise inspection tours from the UK to add a
commission of up to 30% to the asking price for the property. Second is
hard sell. You will find it hard to find any free time away from your
Sales Advisor. Remember, initial private contracts in Spain are legally
binding, you will normally have no option but complete on the sale,
within a specified timescale, no cooling off period, no get out clause.
If you’re not absolutely certain, sign nothing.
I f
you’ve got the time, a far better alternative is to take a holiday,
you’d probably find something in a week, preferably in a fortnight – or,
even better, take an extended holiday and check that you really like
your chosen resort, the lifestyle, the people.
So you’ve got a week, where do you
start? In Vera Playa, first choose your urbanisation. Since many are
gated communities, and locked, it’s quite hard to look around them. If
you are staying with us, and we are in Spain, just ask. We’ll show you
the different urbanisations, give you some sound advice and it will cost
you nothing. If we’re not in Spain at the time of your trip, we’ll find
somebody else to help.
Narrowed it down to a couple of
Urbanisations, now you can start looking at apartments. There are many
estate agents in the area, most of whom sell in the Naturist Zones.
Remember, the vendor will agree the price he wants with the estate
agent. The estate agent can ask whatever price he wants. Commission is
regularly about 10%. There is no such thing as a sole agency, different
estate agents may have the same property on their books, at different
prices.
Work out you exact specifications,
what are your priorities? Do you want to live in your new home or is it
principally for holidays? Do you plan to winter in Spain? If you want
your apartment for winter use you need to be South facing, or you will
be cold. These factors will influence your specification. If you
clearly define what you are looking for, you won’t waste your time
looking around lots of unsuitable properties.
Cost, aspect, number of bedrooms,
floor level- be prepared to look at something that doesn’t precisely
meet your full specification, but remember what your most important
priorities are.
You’ve found just the right
apartment, what now?
You can make an offer, but often the
vendor will not negotiate. If you’re buying from a Spanish vendor, the
proportion of ‘black money’ ie non declared cost, will also be part of
the negotiations. Allow 10% of the declared purchase price for taxes
and fees. This includes a tax of 7% on the declared price, so it seems
very attractive to agree to declare a low price, and pay the rest in
cash to the vendor, but if you may sell the apartment in the future you
will pay 35% of the profit in Capital Gains Tax. Declare a low price
and you will pay tax on non existent profit. Of course, ‘black money’
is against the law, but you may find that if you don’t agree to some
portion of black money, the sale will be off.
You’ve found an apartment, you’ve
agreed a price, now you need legal representation. Ask around.
Solicitors in Spain are not as well regulated as in the UK. Rely on
personal recommendations, preferably from several people. It’s not
strictly necessary to use a solicitor (an abogado). A gestor ( a sort
of registered, qualified conveyancing clerk) can be just as good, and
cheaper. Again, ask around for recommendations. The legal situation in
Spain is very different to the UK. Houses can have debts. If the house
has a mortgage, or any other debts or loans secured against it, this
will be recorded at the town hall. The debts must be cleared, or you
will buy the house and its debts. Valuations, structural surveys etc
rarely happen.
The initial private contract that
you and the vendor sign is legally binding. You will normally be asked
for about 10% deposit, and if you back out of the purchase you will lose
this 10%. You could also lose the 10% if you can’t complete in the
stated timescale, so make sure you don’t agree to complete too soon.
But it is quite fair, if the Vendor backs out of the sale he has to
recompense you by the same amount, so gazumping doesn’t happen.
The actual purchase will take place
in the Notary’s office, you must be physically present. You may find
that several people will be there, it can be like a party. The vendor,
the purchaser, both sets of legal representatives, the estate agent, if
there’s a mortgage, the bank manager If you have agreed to pay some
cash, you will turn up at your bank, full of trepidation, asking for
what seems like an enormous sum in cash. The bank will be totally
un-phased, and will count out thousands on the counter, in front of you
and everybody else in the bank. At the notary’s office, in a private
ante-room, this cash will change hands, between you, the vendor, the
bank manager, the estate agent, quite bizarre. Alternatively, you could
give power of attorney to somebody who you trust to represent you. You
must do this at the Notary’s office. Interestingly, it’s quite
straightforward to arrange a power of attorney at an English Notary, the
contract must be written in Spanish and stamped by the Spanish Embassy,
but it is quite straightforward. It sounds obvious, but don’t give
power of attorney to just anybody. We know of people who gave power of
attorney to the vendor’s representative – you wouldn’t dream of doing it
in the UK – why do it in Spain? On completion of this process, you
receive your Escritura, your legal deed of sale.
And that’s it – you are now the
proud owner of your Spanish home! |
