Many UK and North European citizens are finding the idea of purchasing abroad more attractive and achievable. With a drop in the cost of air fares, interest rates in Europe getting lower, and the property itself offering capital growth, countries like Spain have become more enticing to prospective buyers. Spain offers short air travel time, outstanding sunshine and plenty of potential growth. It may not have been a good idea to buy in Spain in the past, but it can be done more safely if you stick to some general guidelines. Here is your underlying buyers guide for purchasing real estate in Spain:

• Arrange your finances first.
  Consider using a Spanish mortgage expert to guide you through the procedure.


• It is important that you obtain professional help before venturing into any unfamiliar legal territory.
  


• Set yourself a maximum budget and stick to it
• Stand by for time deadlines to be protracted.
  
• Wait until you have the funding in place before committing yourself to a private purchase contract.
  
• Be aware that the procedure for purchasing in Spain has its own idiosyncrasies and don’t assume that it will be the same as it is in other markets.
• Fully understand the way taxes are accrued based on the specific ownership structure that you choose.

Before making any purchases in Spain, it would be advisable to first approach your lawyer with a series of questions to be answered. There have been a lot of situations where buyers from abroad do not get the results they seek because they either asked the wrong questions or did not ask questions at all before hand. 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 complications can come from purchasing land that is 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?




• Is this purchase being bought direct or as part of a cessation of contract?


• In this specific purchase, will any be under declaration?


• Are you responsible for any additional costs such as, capital gains, inheritance, wealth or income taxes?


• At which stage of the transaction are they deemed nonrefundable?


• What lawyer costs and other legal fees will need to be paid?

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 2:48 pm and is filed under Aid, Life In The Region, Real Estate Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.