Buying a property in spain and what to look out for and what questions to ask.

[rgjoyce]

Hi All,
My wife and I are looking to purchase a property in Spain Lloret De Mar as a holiday home.
We've searched around and found a property.
Next, we have found a mortgage broker "lavida mortgages"
The man that we're dealing with is named Henry Slade.
He seems very adept and seems to do the task well. So we're going to try to stick with him.

So, here is what we are trying to do.
We want to purchase the property without having to travel to spain.
I've been told that we need an NIE (personal tax number)
I found a website that says that you can nominate anyone in spain that is a resident and give them power of attorney so that they can go to the police station to get the NIE number for you.
There is mixed info about how much this costs. I see some say it's about 9 euro. But then I found one site that charges about 300 euro to get it for you. A bit Pricey I think.

Anyhow, we found a property. The bank is offering us 110% of the price. So all we have to do is to pay 3000 euro to secure the property and 600 euro for the mortgage brokers fees.
Because the property is being sold by the lending bank, they are giving us 110% @ 3%
I asked about early payout fees. The following was the reply.

Redemption fee if you pay part or all of the mortgage is 0.5% during the first 5 years and then 0.25% thereafter (very little).

If you pay a lump sum of you can either reduce the monthly payment or the term.

We are buying an apartment, so the following questions are related to apartments only.
Other questions that we have asked:
1)
Land ownership where the building is, it is state land or private.
Answerrivate
So, this raised a new question.

If the land is private, we only own the apartment sitting on the land. Who is the land owner?
What is to stop the land owner from evicting us from the land usage. or is there a contract for 99 years or so like in England?
We see many articles on the internet about people purchasing and then having the land reclaimed by the state.​

2)
Do we have to pay state tax?
Answer: yes each year about 300€ on the apartment in question.
The property price is about 130k. Pretty low tax rate.

3)
Will there be a document of ownership of the apartment?
Answer: Yes you will get the deeds

4)
Since this is a top floor apartment, if there is alot of rain or there is a problem on the roof that comes down to our apartment, who pays for the repairs, eg if the roof starts leaking into the apartment?
Answer: It would be paid from your insurance, but we get very little rain!!
So, this raised a new question.

How much does building insurance cost in Spain that covers things like weather damage? I think the bank we are getting the mortgage from uses AXA insurance.​

5)
It was mentioned a couple of times to, "put in an offer" to the bank to purchase the property. Does this mean that if the cost is 127,000 we could offer the bank to buy it at 120,000 for example.
Answer: Yes
So, it seems that the Spanish banks want to get the properties off their books and will negotiate on the price if it's their property being sold.

6)
Does the mortgage come with insurance? or would I have to take that our myself separately?
Answer:


Thanks all for reading and I hope that this info will be of assistance to others.
If I have missed any questions, please let me know.

There are still lots of unanswered questions with regards to making the purchase without having to travel to Spain and the power of attorney documents, so any comments on these would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Norbert]

Smart move dude

Nowadays we can buy a degree online.
And we can also buy a house in Spain online.

Given the choice, my suggestion would be to get that basic education first!!

Hi All,
My wife and I are looking to purchase a property in Spain Lloret De Mar as a holiday home.
We've searched around and found a property.
Next, we have found a mortgage broker "lavida mortgages"
The man that we're dealing with is named Henry Slade.
He seems very adept and seems to do the task well. So we're going to try to stick with him.

So, here is what we are trying to do.
We want to purchase the property without having to travel to spain.
I've been told that we need an NIE (personal tax number)
I found a website that says that you can nominate anyone in spain that is a resident and give them power of attorney so that they can go to the police station to get the NIE number for you.
There is mixed info about how much this costs. I see some say it's about 9 euro. But then I found one site that charges about 300 euro to get it for you. A bit Pricey I think.

Anyhow, we found a property. The bank is offering us 110% of the price. So all we have to do is to pay 3000 euro to secure the property and 600 euro for the mortgage brokers fees.
Because the property is being sold by the lending bank, they are giving us 110% @ 3%
I asked about early payout fees. The following was the reply.

Redemption fee if you pay part or all of the mortgage is 0.5% during the first 5 years and then 0.25% thereafter (very little).

If you pay a lump sum of you can either reduce the monthly payment or the term.

We are buying an apartment, so the following questions are related to apartments only.
Other questions that we have asked:
1)
Land ownership where the building is, it is state land or private.
Answerrivate
So, this raised a new question.

If the land is private, we only own the apartment sitting on the land. Who is the land owner?
What is to stop the land owner from evicting us from the land usage. or is there a contract for 99 years or so like in England?
We see many articles on the internet about people purchasing and then having the land reclaimed by the state.​

2)
Do we have to pay state tax?
Answer: yes each year about 300€ on the apartment in question.
The property price is about 130k. Pretty low tax rate.

3)
Will there be a document of ownership of the apartment?
Answer: Yes you will get the deeds

4)
Since this is a top floor apartment, if there is alot of rain or there is a problem on the roof that comes down to our apartment, who pays for the repairs, eg if the roof starts leaking into the apartment?
Answer: It would be paid from your insurance, but we get very little rain!!
So, this raised a new question.

How much does building insurance cost in Spain that covers things like weather damage? I think the bank we are getting the mortgage from uses AXA insurance.​

5)
It was mentioned a couple of times to, "put in an offer" to the bank to purchase the property. Does this mean that if the cost is 127,000 we could offer the bank to buy it at 120,000 for example.
Answer: Yes
So, it seems that the Spanish banks want to get the properties off their books and will negotiate on the price if it's their property being sold.

6)
Does the mortgage come with insurance? or would I have to take that our myself separately?
Answer:


Thanks all for reading and I hope that this info will be of assistance to others.
If I have missed any questions, please let me know.

There are still lots of unanswered questions with regards to making the purchase without having to travel to Spain and the power of attorney documents, so any comments on these would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rgjoyce]

thanks

Was hoping for a more intelligent reply.
But thanks

Looks like we should get a solicitor. Any recommendations?

 

[Maria2]

an intelligent reply?

Man ... you offer yourself as a freelance PHP Developer in Omsk.
What makes you think that you can buy an apartment in Spain, online, and only with the help of a 'nice guy' whom you probably also found online as well, and whose company name you misspell.

Apparently Mr. La Vida can't tell you who owns the land on which the apartment is located, nor whether "the mortgage come with insurance? or would I have to take that our myself separately?".
When your Mortgage Broker can't answer these questions, what is your interpretation of the word ADEPT?

To most people buying a new house is one of the most important purchases they make in their life. Disappointments, therefore, can have very serious impact on you.

The advise to get educated before making this kind of risky decisions was a very 'intelligent' one.

Was hoping for a more intelligent reply.
But thanks

Looks like we should get a solicitor. Any recommendations?

 

[rgjoyce]

Stop being a dick. If you can't say anything useful, please be silent.
I did NOT ask you to tell me who owns the land.
Who says I would be buying it online. nobody is that naive.
If you don't understand what forums are for, then please don't respond.

The forum is for asking advice.
Hence the >> Any recommendations? request about solicitors in Spain.

 

[Norbert]

Somebody with the name of MARIA can not be a DICK

'... making the purchase without having to travel to Spain and the power of attorney documents ....'

You are getting your apartment from the internet, the mortgage broker from the internet, advise from the internet and you are not going to travel to Spain to buy the property .....
And this, in your eyes, is NOT BUYING ONLINE?

Yes, with the availability of the Internet, it is possible to see, more or less, what a house looks like without actually going to the property yourself.
Unfortunately, the online listing will ONLY show what the seller (private, agent or bank) wants you to see. In reality the apartment can be quite scary, and completely different from the impression those 'nice' photos gave you.

There are many reasons why buying from a website is not a very smart thing to do.
For example, you will never really know:

- What the neighborhood looks like
- Who your neighbours are
- The REAL size of everything as the photos are not in 3-D
- Whether the apartment is actually empty, without squatters or former owners
- About any damage to the building, communal areas or the apartment
- If the HOA is up-to-date with no debts

All you have is the information you get from people who are trying to get money out of you.
When you do not want to spend money on a thorough evaluation trip, on a lawyer, and on somebody waiting in line for your many documents and other time-consuming bureaucracy, then my advise is DON'T BUY.

And I am sure I am not the only one suggesting this!

Stop being a dick. If you can't say anything useful, please be silent.
I did NOT ask you to tell me who owns the land.
Who says I would be buying it online. nobody is that naive.
If you don't understand what forums are for, then please don't respond.

The forum is for asking advice.
Hence the >> Any recommendations? request about solicitors in Spain.

 

[rgjoyce]

Property seen

Actually the property has been seen and confirmed as clean and without problems, so that is the least of my problems. A friend of ours there viewed it for us.

Back to my initial question.
Looking for a recommendation for a solicitor to assist with the paperwork.

 

[Norbert]

(click here)

:alberteinstein:

Sure, when your friend is a Chartered Surveyor, a member of RICS, and he has concluded in his detailed report that the apartment is 'clean and without problems' then everything should probably be OK ;-)

Why don't you ask JUDICARE? Their ad appears immediately on the right of this window. I have never dealt with them myself, but they seem nice guys and they have been sponsoring the OPIForum as long as I remember.
Their FREE Independent Legal Assessment seems definitely worth a try!
You can always come back to us, your online friends!

Actually the property has been seen and confirmed as clean and without problems, so that is the least of my problems. A friend of ours there viewed it for us.

Back to my initial question.
Looking for a recommendation for a solicitor to assist with the paperwork.

 

[rgjoyce]

Judicare

ok finally, a reference.
This is what I was looking for.
Thanks. I will contact them.

 

[Norbert]

SEARCH-button

The ad has been there constantly, right in front of your nose.
There is a lot of info readily available on this BLOG, as long as you know where to go.
It is definitely worth to spend 10 or 15 minutes of your valuable time on analyzing the website. Try a few buttons, e.g. PROPERTY FORUMS and NEW POSTS. Especially QUICK LINKS and SEARCH will get you an instant response to a lot of questions you may still have.

Blogs dedicated to Spain alone are worth checking as well, e.g. www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

You know where to find us when you have moved in, and want to invite your online friends at the House Warming party.

 

[dunmovin]

buying in Spain

By all means call Judicare they helped me with a problem in Cyprus an ex prem footy.
But the best advice I can give is GO and see the place , it will be well worth the travel expense I can assure you. friends are wonderful but they do not have the same perspective as you.:joyman:

 

[Norbert]

what is wisdom worth

I don't think we're going to hear anymore from our friend from Omsk.
So far several people in this thread have advised him from experience.
And hundreds and hundreds of similar warnings against online buying can be found on this Forum.

When he ignores all that, oh, well ....

By all means call Judicare they helped me with a problem in Cyprus an ex prem footy.
But the best advice I can give is GO and see the place , it will be well worth the travel expense I can assure you. friends are wonderful but they do not have the same perspective as you.:joyman: