Many residents of Britain and North Europe are finding the idea of purchasing foreign property a more desirable and realistic goal. Because these properties offer a good level of capital growth, lower airfares and low European interest rates have made purchasing in countries like Spain more attractive. The country of Spain provides the advantage of brief air travel, plentiful sunshine and a thriving economy. purchasing in Spain may have gotten some bad press recently, but it can be safe if you follow some basic rules. The following is a fundamental guide for those interested in purchasing real estate in Spain:
- A good rule of thumb is to make sure to have your finances arranged first when buying real estate in Spain.
Consider using a Spanish mortgages expert like Your Spanish Mortgage to guide you through the procedure. - Before you sign any binding contracts, seek expert legal advice.
- Avoid overstretching yourself financially.
- You should expect that time deadlines will be protracted.
- Wait until you have the funding in place before committing yourself to a private purchase contract.
- Be aware that the procedure for buying in Spain has its own idiosyncrasies and don’t assume that it will be the same as it is in other markets.
- Make sure you completely comprehend how taxes are incurred depending on the type of ownership status you choose If you don?t seek specialist advice
Foreign buyers can run into trouble when engaging in local business transactions, finding that they do not get the results they expected or wanted. Misunderstandings arise because the buyers failed to do their homework, or at least to ask the correct preliminary questions. Before completing the transaction, you should get answers to the following questions:
- Is the land that the purchase sits on registered as urbanized or rustic? What are the implications of purchasing on land that turns out to be rustic?
- What costs will have to be accounted for, including standard legal costs and tax costs?
- Are there any licenses in place, such as building licenses or first licenses of occupancy?
- If the property is under a decade old, does it include a 10 year building warranty?
- Is this transaction being made with a direct purchase or is it part of a termination of deed?
- Will there be any under declaration in this purchase?
- Be sure to ask what extra costs you might be liable for, such as taxes on capital gains, inheritance taxes or income tax.
- Do you need to pay any extra deposits? When in the procedure are refunds no longer possible?
- Are there any additional legal costs or fees to be paid?
