Help Buying Property In Spain?

wilnger

Hi, myself and my husband are thinking of purchasing a property in the Costa Blanca area in Spain, we are first time buyers and dont know much about the process. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.........

EKRIUQ

Get a good english speaking solicitor, there's plenty in the Torrevieja area and remember to add 10% onto the list price to cover IVA stamp duty and fees.

amdublin

I can recommend a Spanish solicitor working in Ireland:
Alvarro Blasco & Associates

Search Blasco Solicitors on Facebook

http://www.blascosolicitors.ie

axel rose

Buy second hand in an established area, never overlooking a large potential site. Also south facing properties have a huge advntage over others, particularly in early spring and autumn.

K.Flyer

wilnger wrote: »

Hi, myself and my husband are thinking of purchasing a property in the Costa Blanca area in Spain, we are first time buyers and dont know much about the process. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.........

A couple for starters...
First thing you need to do is buy the book You and The Law in Spain 2009 / 2010 by David Searl and READ it. (Available on Amazon.co.uk)
Get yourself a good recommended English Speaking Solicitor (Abogado)
(I have heard good reports about Alvarro Blasco as well)
Do not use the Solicitor that the Seller / Estate Agent recommends.
Do not use an Asessoria these are just legal service companies.
Work out your max budget, then drop it by 20%. This gives you an amount including your legal fees to start looking.
There are Thousands of properties for sale in the Costa Blanca region for sale some of them now for sale at 2000 / 2002 prices or less, so there are good deals to be had.
With cheap flights readily available be prepared to take several trips out to find the area you prefer and the property you will be happy with.
As with everywhere there are better places to buy than others, it really depends on what you want from the property, just take your time and do not leave your brain at the airport.

ciano6

i'd second everything above. I don't know why you'd need a lawyer though, as the Notary does the work in Spain. That book is a very easy read.

A few things you need to have organised early on are:

Get a NIE. Its a Spanish Identity Number. Much more important than our PPS number. You can't do anything without it. You get it at the Foreigners Office at your National Police station. (about 11 euro)

Open a Bank Account. We found Caja Madrid very good. And my brother found Santander very good.

Get a certificate on non-Residence. That is if you are not going to be a full-time resident. The bank will need it. (about 9 euro)

Learn Spanish. My wife speaks it and it makes everything much easier. we didn't have to rely on anyone else to do it for you.

NEGOTIATE like mad about the price. We got our little place for just over 60K. The asking price are aspirational nonsense. Even more so than here.

THe deposit is NONREFUNDABLE!

Make sure you have your property registered after the purchase. Make sure you get the Nota Simple before you pay the deposit. This says that the property has no outstanding debt.

We've just paid the deposit so we are in the same boat as you.

K.Flyer

ciano6 wrote: »

i'd second everything above. I don't know why you'd need a lawyer though, as the Notary does the work in Spain..

You should use a Lawyer as all property transaction contracts are written in Spanish you need someone to double check that it is in order BEFORE you sign it and hand over your deposit. (see further down) Never ever trust the sellers translation of the Spanish document as the translation is not legally binding in any way. When you sign the contract you are signing what it says in Spanish. He will also act as your translater (legal requirement for non-nationals) during the signing at the Notary. The Lawyer will also carry out last minute registary checks (Nota Simple) to make sure all and any debts on the property have been cleared before you complete the purchase at the Notary. It has happened where large debts have been stuck on a property at the last minute, gone undetected and the new owners are stuck with the problem.

ciano6 wrote: »

A few things you need to have organised early on are:

Get a NIE. Its a Spanish Identity Number. Much more important than our PPS number. You can't do anything without it. You get it at the Foreigners Office at your National Police station. (about 11 euro).

Again your Lawyer helps you fill out the paperwork for this to make sure when get to the Foreigners Office that everything is in order.

ciano6 wrote: »

NEGOTIATE like mad about the price. We got our little place for just over 60K. The asking prices are aspirational nonsense. Even more so than here.

Buyers market!!

ciano6 wrote: »

THe deposit is NONREFUNDABLE!

Anything from 3,000euro to 10% of the purchase price.

ciano6 wrote: »

Make sure you have your property registered after the purchase. Make sure you get the Nota Simple before you pay the deposit. This says that the property has no outstanding debt.

Again the Lawyer can look after all of this for you. (see above)

ciano6 wrote: »

We've just paid the deposit so we are in the same boat as you.

Best Wishes to Both Of You.

mdebets

One point that is totally missing here is: learn Spanish

You are going to buy something for a large sum of money, but you will be totally dependent on your solicitor if you don't speak Spanish.
You won't have good enough Spanish to fully understand the contract, but at least if you understand it a little bit, you can cross check to see if it is correct what he is telling you.

You can't do your own research into the properties (how is the area, any large building sites planned near the house, any changes in law planned that could affect you, etc.). You would be fully dependent on your solicitor to tell you these things.
You also ould have problems suing him, if he made costly mistakes for you.

So go and learn Spanish, at least to a basic level so that you can read and communicate.