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Spanish Buying Guide
Getting There
The easiest, cheapest and quickest way to get to Spain is to fly, with most
resort destinations only a couple of hours flight. There are plenty of budget
airlines that fly to Spain all year round from many UK airports. There are a
large number of destination airports from Gibraltar to Girona.
Legal Advice
Foreign property ownership in Spain has no restrictions, but you will need to
obtain in person a fiscal number for foreigners called an NIE (numero de
identificacion de extranjeros). You are best advised to use an English-speaking
solicitor(abogado) when buying in Spain. The solicitor will check that the
property of interest is registered in the Registro de la Popiedad, and will
ensure that the property has no debts attached to it. When the solicitor is
satisfied that there are no issues, you, as the buyer, will have to pay a 10%
deposit. After this, if the buyer pulls out he forfeits the deposit, but if the
seller pulls out, then the vendor forfeits double the deposit (20%).
Off Plan
If the property is an off-plan property, then payments are normally broken down
into stages, the last part due upon completion of construction. Various payments
will have to be paid at each stage.
The signing of a sales contract is undertaken before a neutral public notary in
the form of a public deed (escritura).
Fees and Taxes
Fees and taxes in Spain usually amount to about 10% of the property’s purchase
price. Transfer tax of 7% is applicable on re-sales, including stamp duty. On
new property VAT (IVA) of 7% is due, plus 1% stamp duty. For the seller there is
also plusvalia (capital gains tax). Land or commercial property is subject to
16% VAT rather than 7%, but stamp duty stays at 1%. Spanish lawyers generally
charge about 1% of the final purchase price, and notary fees are around 0.5%.
One thing to watch out for are agents’ fees which can vary from 2% to 15%!
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