This is undoubtedly the stress-free option (so long as money isn’t short). Buy on a resort and you won’t have to worry about cleaning the communal pool, watering the garden, maintaining the roads or finding rental guests.

Depending on the resort you choose, of course, you are likely to be living among a wide range of foreign owners as well as Spanish. There will be social and sports activities onsite, often including beach clubs, golf courses, tennis courts, gyms and spas.

The downsides include the expensive management and maintenance fees, the somewhat artificial nature of some resorts, the control over how you can decorate your home outside, the fact that many of your neighbours may be an endless churn of holidaymakers.

Source. THE AIPP/RICS/RDE Guide to buying a property in Spain

50 years ago, the vast majority of Spaniards lived in villages and small towns. From the 1970s to the 1990s more than 10 million moved provinces. Many of the younger people moved to the coasts looking for better paid work in the tourist trade while millions more moved to the cities.

Since then, however, in the south and east especially, expats from Britain, northern Europe and even further afield have arrived seeking a new lifestyle and reviving village life. Schools have reopened, village fiestas begun again and local people have cashed in on old properties and land.

In the northern provinces, there are still entire abandoned villages for sale, while in Andalusia the picturesque “white villages” have been great favourites among British buyers.

If you choose to live in a small town, whether on the coast or the interior, you will have a huge choice. You could live in a town like Torrevieja, in Alicante, with a large British population that has created its own institutions such as weekend car boot sales, and started the same clubs and societies as at ‘home’. Or you could opt for a town in the interior with hardly any foreign residents – but with rich traditions and fiestas based around the Catholic faith or the rural way of life. You might not find much English spoken, but will be able to immerse themselves more fully in one of the world’s great languages and civilisations.

Source. THE AIPP/RICS/RDE Guide to buying a property in Spain

Budget flights to Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca and so many Spanish cities have made the idea of a weekend bolthole very appealing.

While city apartments are often highly expensive, and cities can be polluted and noisy, Spain has invested heavily in those things that bring in tourists, such as transport infrastructure, museums, the arts and culture.

Compared to many countries’ cities, Spain’s are clean, safe and well-managed, with extremely good shopping both in street markets and high-end international brands. And of course, the café culture in tapas bars and street cafés is unsurpassed.

The rental potential for a property in the city can be very tempting too.

Source. THE AIPP/RICS/RDE Guide to buying a property in Spain

Buying a home involves a series of costs for the buyer, and sometimes you are not quite sure why they must be paid or to whom. They make the initial outlay you must make to buy a home considerably larger.

Who do I have to pay?

• Pay the seller the price of the home. If you paid a sum on account or a deposit before making the notarial deed, subtract that sum from the price you have to pay when you sign the purchase agreement. It may be that you signed an agreement securing the safe conclusion of the sale (contrato de arras) and turned in a sum to the seller as security. If so, subtract that sum from the price payable when you sign the notarial deed. Remember that if you decide not to buy after all, you will lose the money you put up as security. If the seller decides not to go through with the deal, he or she must give back twice the sum you put up as security.
• Pay the estate agency. Remember that the person who ought to pay the estate agency for its services is the person who engaged it. Therefore, if it is the seller who engaged the agency (as generally happens), the agency can only present its claims for payment to the seller, never the buyer.
• Pay the notary. The notary will charge fees according to an official schedule, for authorising the deed of purchase and the mortgage loan deed. It is important for you to know that by law the seller has to pay the fees for the authorisation of the deed and the buyer has to pay the fees for the copies of the deed. The buyer only has to pay all notarial fees if buyer and seller have expressly agreed to that arrangement. The amount of fees is established by the regulation schedule or list of notarial fees. Pay administrative agents the cost of their services, if you have engaged any to take care of paperwork for you. It is very important to insist that your agent show you the original bills issued by the notary and the registrar and the tax receipt, so that you will know how much you have paid for each service.
• Pay the property registrar the fees charged for drawing up the entry of your right and, if you have agreed to this, the fees charged for registering the mortgage. The registrar’s fees are established by a regulation schedule or list, which is available to all users at each registration office. Before making any payments, demand to see the bills and make sure they include a breakdown into the component charges, the VAT, and the identity and identification number of the person or company that issued the bill. In the case of bills from notaries and registrars, if you do not agree with the items or sums you are being charged, you may file an appeal according to the instructions in the rules establishing the fee Schedule.

Source. How to buy a home in Spain

Most overseas buyers come for the seaside. It isn’t just the chance to swim in it, the coastal strip also has the facilities and infrastructure – airports, golf courses, nightlife, international schools, attractive property, English-speaking professionals – as well as cooling sea breezes and a ready-made expat social life.

Prices are, of course, more expensive, but you might not necessarily need a sea view and many of the seaside advantages can be had a few miles inland. Spain is blessed with two wonderful island groups, the Balearics in the Mediterranean and the Canaries further south off the North African coast (which makes them warm all year).

Source. THE AIPP/RICS/RDE Guide to buying a property in Spain

Once you have signed the purchase agreement and the mortgage loan agreement and paid your taxes, you still have one last step left, which is to register the right you have just acquired in the Property Registry. 

You need to do this so that:

• You as the buyer will have full protection for the right you have just acquired, because only if you register your right will you:

  • Be considered the one true owner of the property, until and unless a court rules otherwise.
  • Be protected from the seller’s creditors.
  • Be protected from hidden burdens that might affect your home.
  • Get judicial protection for your right in case others challenge it or disturb your possession.
  • Once your have registered your right, nobody can acquire any effective rights whatsoever to your home without your consent.

• You can get a mortgage loan to finance your purchase with. Only if you register your right can the bank register the mortgage that secures the loan.

• In addition, once you have registered your right, the Property Registry will notify the Cadastre of the property’s change of ownership, so that the next property tax notice will be made out to you.

For all these reasons it is essential, as we have already explained, for you to buy only from the person who is listed in the Property Registry as the owner of the home or the lot your home is going to be built on. That way you can find out if there are any injunctions, mortgages or other burdens in the property’s registered history. And after you have signed the deed, it is equally essential for you to register your right with the Property Registry.

Who handles registration?

In order for ownership rights to be entered in the Property Registry, the following papers must be submitted to the registry office in whose territory the home lies:

• An authorised copy of the notarial deed of sale.
• The selfassessment form for the applicable type of tax, showing that the selfassessed sum has been deposited.
• The latest property tax receipt, so the Registry can record your home’s cadastre reference number.

These documents may be submitted directly by you, the buyer, by an administrativ e agent acting on your behalf or by the notary’s office, if it renders this sort of services.

At all events, you should know that once the document has been submitted to the Property Registry, the registration entry must be made within the next fifteen working days. The registrar will check that the agreement meets all the requirements set by law for full efficacy and that the buyer’s ownership right can be registered. If the registrar believes the document has any defects that prevent it from being registered (defects of form, parties who do not have the legal capacity to act as parties, terms that do not match the terms in the registry, etc.), the registrar must give notice to the person who submitted the document.

This person may correct the defects or, if he or she does not agree with the registrar’s decision, the person may file an appeal with the DirectorateGeneral of Registries and Notarial Affairs or ask for the decision to be reviewed by another registrar, assigned by a duty roster approved in regulation fashion. He may appeal to Court as well.

Source. How to buy a home in Spain

Spain has around 95 people per square kilometre. The UK has 265, Belgium 370 and the Netherlands nearly 500. So for new arrivals from northern Europe, Spain is bigger, emptier, hotter and far more mountainous. Go just a few miles inland from the coast and it’s not unusual to see farmers riding donkeys and shepherds tending flocks. This is the ‘campo’, the countryside. People are just as warm and friendly as on the coasts (maybe more so), but they are unlikely to speak English.

Living in the campo certainly has its attractions – the quiet, the space, the beauty both of the countryside and the farmhouses, and all at a much lower price than you would normally pay for British rural properties.

If looking to buy in the countryside you need to pay close attention to where utility supplies will come from and how easy access will be in weather extremes. Historically, there have been problems over planning and ownership of rural properties so always take extra care to get a good, experienced lawyer. Certainly, you should not use the same lawyer as the seller.

Source. THE AIPP/RICS/RDE Guide to buying a property in Spain

The Canaries, sitting off the coast of Morocco, are warm, but not especially hot, all year. Buy here and you can get four seasons of enjoyment (or rental).

They are comprised of seven islands: Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. Each is different, some sandy, some more volcanic, others with vibrant nightlife and cheap holiday apartments, others quieter. Buying here requires careful consideration as each island is so different – it’s not like buying in the Costa del Sol, which has a bit of everything.

The Canary Islands may be known for their inexpensive, year-round holiday vibe, but they also have great natural beauty, deep gorges, banana plantations and Spain’s highest mountain.

Source. THE AIPP/RICS/RDE Guide to buying a property in Spain

Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza (and the tiny island of Formentera, off Ibiza) form the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.

On Mallorca, the madness of resorts like Magaluf sits alongside classy seaside villages and resorts where the Spanish royal family spends its summers and the likes of Richard Branson have homes. It has something for everyone, including the beautiful (and expensive) city of Palma, arty communities like Deià and Valldemossa along the northern coast and the more family-oriented resorts of the east coast. As well as villas and holiday apartments, beautiful and historic city-centre apartments and converted farmhouses in the interior are also popular.

Menorca is especially popular with British families. It is quieter, more easy-going and less expensive than its neighbours, but travelling there is less easy in winter.

No problems getting to Ibiza all year, where the party never stops. Although it may be known for its hedonistic lifestyle, Ibiza’s attractions also include rolling pine-covered hills and hidden coves. Property is among the most expensive in Spain.

Source. THE AIPP/RICS/RDE Guide to buying a property in Spain

Before you buy, it is important to bear in mind that any purchase agreement you make will involve taxes, so it is a good idea to find out ahead of time how much you will have to pay. The price appearing in the purchase agreement will be the base on which taxes are calculated, although if the price is lower than the property’s real value, the tax authorities will make out a complementary assessment to cover the difference.

The taxes you have to pay will depend on whether you are buying a new home straight from the promoter or a second-hand home.

Buying a new home:

As a buyer, you must pay value added tax (VAT) to the seller, and if the home is in the Canary Islands, you must pay the indirect tax for the Canary Islands. This tax you pay to the seller, together with the price of the home.

As the buyer, you also have to pay stamp duty to your autonomous community (region), which is between 0.3 (only for special legally protected cases) and 2% of the selling price appearing in the deed. To pay this tax, you have to fill out an official self-assessment form and deposit the tax into the Exchequer’s account at a participating financial institution.

Buying a second-hand home:

When you are buying a second-hand home from its owner, you do not pay value added tax (VAT), but you do pay transfer tax to the autonomous community where the home is located; just fill out the official self-assessment form and deposit the tax into the Exchequer’s account at a participating financial institution. Amount: This will be a percentage of the price, set by the autonomous community, and will range between 6 and 7%.

The mortgage loan deed.

Will be subject to stamp duties, which will range between 0.5 and 1% (depending on the autonomous community in question) of the total amount of the mortgage liability, that is, not the sum actually loaned to you, but the sum secured for the return of the principal, interest and foreclosure costs.

Deeds of novation, subrogation and cancellation of mortgage loans are exempt from taxes.

Lastly, bear in mind that if you buy low-income housing (viviendas de protección oficial, or VPO), the tax rates will generally be lower.

Source. How to buy a home in Spain