|
 |
||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
 |
House in Spain |
 |  |
Long-term renting houses
Renting contracts are mostly for 11 months and can be renewed afterwards, although some shorter lets are available if you look extensively. Check how long the owner wishes to rent the property for (not just for the winter months). One month's deposit plus one month's rent in advance is standard and the payment is generally expected when the contract is being signed. Check which costs are inclusive and which are not. Normally the community or urbanisation costs (for things like pool and garden) and the IBI (property tax) are being paid for by the owner and flexible costs like electricity, water and gas are paid by the renter. If you have a garden or pool: agree on who takes care of them and who pays the extra costs. If you rent through an agent, these costs are for the owner.
A lot of times an inventory list is used as part of the rental contract to show which furnishings, and other equipment belongs to the property (this is sometimes proven with photographs). Make sure you know what you sign: a lawyer can check the contract and have it translated if necessary. By the way: only Spanish contracts are recognised by Spanish law.
For a good indication of renting and buying prices in Nerja or Andalusia you can have a look at www.kyero.com
Buying a property
Of course there are some horror stories about buying a house in Spain or Andalusia and, unfortunately some of them are true. However, it’s not impossible to buy a good house as long as you know what you’re doing and let yourself be advised by the experts. As with anything in life: if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is... Investigation
Probably your first step is to see what is being paid for houses comparable to the one that caught your eye (through real estate agents, adverts and the internet). Is the property being offered by several agents and do they all ask the same price? In some cases the owner could have lowered his price without notifying each of the different real estate agents. Don’t forget to simply visit the neighbourhood, preferably in different seasons. This could also be in your interest if you are thinking of renting out the property to tourists (don’t forget: in Spain you’re obligated to declare your profits for renting to the tax organisation).
See what the media have to say about the area. What are the plans for building (from urbanisations to new golf courses, harbours or water plants). In ten year's will you have the same views? The town hall might know more about these subjects (if necessary, take someone with you to translate). Also a little chat with the neighbours or in the local pub can provide you with a lot of information.
Extra costs
If you buy a house in Spain, you have to count 10 to 11% of extra costs compared to the selling price. These are costs for taxes (7%), registration, notary, lawyer etc.
Urbanisation or community costs
In Spain a lot of properties are in urbanisations with additional costs for things like gardening, security or shared pool. These community costs will be part of your monthly payments. You automatically also pay for things like maintenance in arrear, so check well how are things going in the urbanisation. You might want to speak with the president of the urbanisation to get all the details.
Furniture & Furnishings
Usually both renting and hiring is furnished and they work with inventory lists for the furniture and electronic equipment contained in the house (this can also be done by photos).
18% tax over profit
It still happens a lot that the owner wants to be partly paid in cash or ‘under the table’. Make sure you and the owner agree on this subject, because paying ‘under the table’ can cost you extra tax money if you might want to sell the property in future. That’s because of the fact that in Spain you pay 18% tax on the profit over the officially registered value in the owning certificate, the ‘escritura’ amount. (Nowadays they say you shouldn’t pay more than 10% this way. Just to be clear: it’s illegal to subscribe a lower ‘escritura’ amount than the purchase price.) The owner also pays ‘Plusvia’: a percentage of the increasing of the price based on the cadastral worth.
N.B. If you’re selling as a non-resident, 3% of the escritura amount is kept by the tax office. By law you need to pay ‘retention tax’ within 30 days after the purchase. This law is applied to ensure that non-residents don’t leave the country without paying taxes. By the way: the law that said that non-residents have to pay 30% tax doesn’t exist anymore, because it conflicted with European equality laws.
The real estate agent
When you buy a property, you’re not obligated to work with a real estate agent (if it’s just for the search, internet already helps a lot in searching). However, working with a good agent has its advantages. Firstly, based on his experience he would be able to make a sound judgement regarding the price and as a neutral person he can do the negotiations. Secondly, it is likely that he has seen other similar houses from the inside and he knows the location plus all background information about the property which you can’t know from simply looking at the picture. Thirdly, he knows which houses are new on the market and which ones have been around a while (maybe those owners would consider reducing the price sooner).
The real estate agent is only a commercial mediator (it’s not a protected profession). His commission is normally 5% and this is divided if there are 2 agents involved (from the buying and selling party). The costs for the agent are paid by the owner.
In specific situations you could hire a taxation expert to judge the worth of the property, but of course this will cost you. If you’re applying for a mortgage, the bank automatically hires an independent taxation expert to value the house, but this only happens after the sale.
Technical details
It’s quite expensive to get an official technical report of a property and therefore this happens not so often (mostly only with more expensive houses). An architect could do an inspection, but he can never really give a 100% guarantee that there’s nothing wrong with the property. So you and the real estate agent must be aware and ask questions regarding electricity, water supply and detain, noise problems and technical shortcomings (leaks, fungus, cracks in the walls, loose tiles etc.). Especially ‘in the campo’ outside the normal urbanisations you can often find special situation according to the usual infrastructure. Ask questions and be critical. In worst case: it’s very hard to sue the previous owner for hidden shortcomings, who might not even live in the same country after the sale.
Lawyer, gestor and notary
All the paperwork is done by a lawyer who checks things like legality, open bills etc. (A good gestor can also do this and is often cheaper, but a lawyer you could (in theory) sue if he didn’t do his job well.) The notary signs the papers to make everything official. Payments are usually through a cheque or bank transfer.
Bank guarantee with new buildings
Would you like to buy a new build property? Nowadays the building companies need to work with a building guarantee. This gives you the guarantee that you get your money back if the construction company might go bankrupt. The exact conditions you can read in the contract.
Building yourself
People who would like to build for themselves often come up against problems that cause a lot of time and money because there are so many regulations. Only start this process if you’re really sure you’ll get all permissions, if you have enough extra time and money, if you work with a really reliable and professional architect and if your nerves are made of steel. Every province and sometimes even cities have different regulations.
Properties outside
Ask your lawyer, gestor and the town hall if there are any specific regulations if you want to live outside the town or city. Sometimes you have special regulations for protecting the environment. In some cases the town hall can even start de-owning procedure if for example it has been decided that a road is needed to be built through your land or property.
Try-out renting
It’s advisable to first rent a property to see how living in Spain turns out in reality.
Reference for Real Estate Agent
Personally we have good experiences with Nerjamar Real Estate (www.nerjamar.com) and Casa Selection (www.casaselection.com).
N.B. This information does not give any rights. Check all current ins and outs with your lawyer, gestor or real estate agent.
|
Life-in-andalusia.com © 2012 All rights reserved. Home... - Nerja - Villages and cities - Things to do - Nice to know - Spanish cuisine - Spain facts - Sitemap |