Buying a property in Spain

Juran

Anyone have experience with buying a property in Spain ?

We wish to buy a winter home in Spain, we have identifed the area, property minimun requirments and we have money set aside for the property plus for fees, stamp duty, etc..and any furniture & applicances.

I would love to pay an agent to do the search, narrow down the properties to view, and manage all the paperwork on our behalf, and we would fly over to accompany the agent to the solicitor, bank, etc. To sign paperwork. I know it sounds lazy, but we're busy with work right now.

Has anyone been through this process, or does anyone know agents in Spain ((Alicante region) who provide such a service ?

endacl

We bought in Mijas about 7 years ago. Remarkably straightforward process. Thousands of holiday homes change hands every year in Spain, and the industry of ‘making it happen’ is a well oiled machine. We contacted a local agent with a budget and a list of requirements (gated development, parking space, storage room etc.), flew over, and saw three properties a day for three days. We ended up going with property 2, day 1. No hard sell. No pushy tactics. He knew we were interested in buying and all he had to do was line up options.

Juran

Thanks for the response. My understanding is to expect 20% of the sale price in fees, taxes, etc. Is this accurate ?

endacl

There or thereabouts IIRC. An agent will give you better local details. Our experience was that the EA was very helpful through all stages. No harm in ringing one for an initial chat.

Costs you may not be aware of (ongoing) would be the local taxes, non-resident property tax, basura etc. We’d budgeted for community fees, but not the extras! Extra few hundred a year.

3DataModem

So just bear in mind;

• It's not like Ireland where you deal direct with the sellers agent. You engage one estate agent. They help you find places. They work with the sellers agent. Your agent will generally get paid by from the sellers agent. If your agent tells you they are not getting paid by the sellers agent and need to be paid by you, there's a very good chance they are getting paid twice. It's just the way it is.
• You will need a local solicitor. There are two solicitors in Ireland who also are Spanish solicitors. I used one of them, and I am very glad I did.
• You will generally need to get a local bank account. Yes of course some people will tell you that you don't need it, etc etc, and can use your Irish IBAN or Revolut or whatever... but the process of conveyance generally uses bank drafts (called cheques) in Spain; i.e. the two solicitors meet the notary and execute the transaction in person, with keys and cheque handover happening in the moment. Some vendors / solicitors do electronic transfer but there is a buttload of risk so you would be well advised to get a spanish bank account.
• You will need a NIE (basically like a PPN number in Ireland, but for non-Spanish). Your solicitor can help with this, it can take a little time.
• The laws vary for the various Provinces in Spain, so a solicitor familiar with the province you want is a big plus.

My advice is;

• Get a solicitor now. Get a good one who you can trust, as you will need to give them POA to sign stuff for you.
• Once you have one, start the NIE process now.
• Once you have NIE, get a bank account now.

Then;

• Find an estate agent working in the area you like. Go to idealista and look at the listings, and research the agents posting the listings, reach out and have a chat (without committing), then make a choice. I chose an Irish expat who was very helpful, but then in the end tried to double-dip on fees. Then asked for a google review. Spain is weird.
• You will notice the same property appearing multiple times... that's different BUYER agents listing other SELLERS properties, to try and catch your eye. Spain is weird.

The process is;

• You find a property you like. Your agent and the vendors agent agree a price and terms. Then you hand it over to your solicitor and let them do it. Our agent chased us for a deposit but we didn't pay them and paid via our solicitor instead (they were trying the double-dip early!) , the "reservation fee" and this is accompanies by a signed agreement. This is somewhere between the Irish sale agreed and contract deposit, i.e. there is still a fair bit of work to do for the solicitors. The process is summarised here: https://www.life-in-andalusia.com/spanish-buying-process/.

fplfan12345

That’s a fantastic post @3DataModem and thanks for taking the time to post it.

Juran

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121626335#Comment_121626335

Thank you

Juran

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121627191#Comment_121627191

Thank you very much. I may PM.you in the future if thats ok.

fplfan12345

Can anyone share an Ireland based Spanish solicitor for property purchase in Spain ?

Preferably one that you have had a good first hand experience with.

Cristianc

Do you have to pay any tax in Spain on the Irish money you use to buy a property?

Firblog

Would have very different view to 3Datamodem above.

You don't need a solicitor to get the NIE, we applied to the Spanish Embassy in Dublin, cost about a tenner, turn up on the day with the form filled in, you will both need proof of address; you get your NIE in email a couple of days later; Foreigner Identity Number (NIE) (exteriores.gob.es)

We looked online - thinkspain & idealista, went out for 2 weeks looking at different properties we liked; settled on one and put in an offer. Vendors agent brought us to bank and helped with account setup.

We didn't need a solicitor, - we hired one, totally unnecessary; estate agent arranged for the contract to be read out (translated) in office of notary and signed by both sides, witnessed by notary, any issues the notary is legally empowered to enforce the contract, our solicitor just sat in on this process... then told us everything was good.

Did bank transfer on same day to seller, we had put down a deposit one month earlier.