Buy Spain Properties Services

Moving To Spain
Follow our guide in 10 steps!

If you are thinking of buying off plan or buying a property in Spain please read our guide and follow your lawyer advice.

1.- PROPERTY OFF PLAN General information you should know
2.- Reserve your property
3.- What is on the private sales contract?
4.- Signature of the public deed. Registration
5.- Other points to check when buying a new house
6.- Total purchase & maintenance cost
7.- Driving in Spain
8.- Pets in Spain
9.- Public transport
10.- Education & Schools

1. PROPERTY OFF PLAN General information you should know:

Inscription details of the Developer at the Spanish Company Registry (Registro Mercantil), its trade name, address and data of the promotional society.

House maps and general location of the unit.

Instructions of the use and maintenance of the installations.

Building specifications and description of the electricity, water, gas and heating networks and fire protection measures. Dimensions and specification of the fixture and fittings. This information is contained in the MEMORIA DE CALIDADES.

Property description and details of the useful surface, Common zones and accessory services.

Price of the property and accessory services and terms of payment.

Keep in mind that anything the developer publishes must be performed, as well as the publicity the developer supplies, that has the power of a legal contract.
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2. Reserve your property

1 The deposit and the advanced payments

Normally, you shall reserve your apartment while its construction is completed. You shall sign a private contract with the seller and put down a non-returnable deposit (about 10% of the property total price).

In the meantime, you will be expected to make advanced payments (shared parts of the property total price), which should be protected by an insurance policy, until the construction is completed. By that date you shall sign the sales contract (contrato de Escritura de Compra-venta) before a Spanish Notary.

Be aware that not until the property is completed, does the buyer obtain its ownership. You must open a bank account to make these payments as for the developer receive them periodically.

2. Guarantee of advanced payments

The shared parts of the property total price, must be insured in order to get the return of all money paid in advance plus interest at 6% of penalization in the event the developer does not commence the works of the property on the date scheduled, or in case of non-completion of the property.

On signing the sales contract, the developer must provide documentation with the type of guarantee for the advanced payments and indication of the guarantor.

In the event the insured events occur, the purchaser may demand the developer for refund of the advanced payments with an annual 6% interest increase. If the developer does not answer the demand, the purchaser should contact the guarantor to demand for refund. Your lawyer shall inspect that your private contract contains reference to this guarantee.
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3. What is on the private sales contract?

Seller and buyer identification

Legal capacity

Details of registration of the building in the Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad), or mention to the non registration of it.

Description of the property; details of the useful surface, common zones and accessory services, and its location.

The selling price and taxes levied on the property to be paid.

Payment terms while the apartment is under construction, up to its completion.

Bank account details where advanced payments are to be paid in.

Reference to the penalties to be applied either in case the buyer does not accomplish the payment terms agreed, or the seller does not provide the qualities promised.

Possession Date: the date when the buyer will take possession of the house. The contract shall also contain the penalty applicable in case the developer does not complete the construction of the property on time.

That in case of dispute, both parties agree to submit to the exclusive competence of the Spanish courts from the location of the property.

Signature of the parties to the purchase contract.

Plan of the property and its description and specifications (memoria de calidades).

Copy of the building permit ( licencia de obras)

This is not the final contract, which shall be signed before a Notary on a public deed.
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4. Signature of the public deed. Registration

As soon as the construction is finished you shall sign the Purchase deed (Contrato de CompraVenta) before a Notary, which shall contain the mortgage contingency, and the specifics of it: amount, rate and term, where applicable.

The Notary is the public official who makes this contract to be legal. He certifies that the parties sign the contract properly. He keeps the original document in his files in case any problem could arise later. Note that the notary does not certify that all statements are true, only that the parties have sworn to them.

The purchase deed must be registered with the Spanish Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad). Once it is done, the title deed (Escritura Pública de Compra-Venta) fully assures your title: the registered contract makes you the owner of the property.

The registration of the house is also important for tax purposes, the real estate tax (IBI tax ) shall be paid every year since you could be fined by the Spanish tax authorities. If you cannot be present to sign the contract, you can make a power of attorney allowing another person to sign it for you, if necessary

You shall be receiving the keys of your property upon signature of the contract in the presence of a Notary.
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5. Other points to check when buying a new house

In order to avoid possible problems that could arise later, do not forget to check every point described below. Otherwise you may find that your dream house is illegally built.

Again you will do well to have a skilled Spanish Lawyer handle with this paperwork, as they know the ins and outs of it.

5.1 . The Partial Plan

When you are willing to buy a dwelling zoned within an urbanization in Spain, you should first check the Partial Plan (Plan Parcial). It is the plan of building plots, which must be approved by the urbanism department (town planning department) of the Town hall where the plots are recorded in.

This plan assures that your urbanization is legal and that there are no other developments planned nearby that could affect your new property. An urbanization is a planned community which provides a minimum of services and a minimum of quality control of the constructions, installations, roads...

5.2 Building in conformity with the Coastal Law

If your property is going to be built near the beach, make sure that your property will comply with The Spanish Coastal Law (Ley de Costas) of 1988 or that the builder has an authorization from the Coast department, which provides that the authorities must restrict building within 100 metres of the beach and establishes a zone of influence (zona de influencia) up to one kilometre inland.

5.3. The building licence, the certificate of completion of the building and the certificate of occupancy

The builder must have obtained the building licence (licencia de obra) issued by the Town Hall, which allows him to build the house.

The certificate of the building completion (certificado de fin de obra) is issued by the architect once the building is complete. The developer needs it in order to get the certificate of occupancy.
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6. Total purchase & maintenance cost

The extra cost amounts to a 10% of the property price

(a) The purchase of your home is a public contract, and the following costs are involved.

6.1 Cost For New Property / off plan :

IVA: [VAT] On new property on the first transmission of the escritura [title deed] the buyer has to pay IVA, which is 7% on apartments, houses and any garages purchased with the property [usually garage space below apartment], and 16% on land, locales [shop units] and garages purchased separately.

Stamp duty: Impuesto de Actos Juridicos Documentado [ AJD ]
When a property is purchased from a developer, promoter or habitual trader and IVA is charged the purchaser will also have to pay 1% AJD [stamp duty]

ITP: [Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales ] [Transfer tax]
On second and subsequent transmissions of a property the buyer has to pay ITP at 7%

Abogado, Notario and registry fees: Abogado [lawyer] fee: around 1%.
Notario fee: Depending on land and size of house, allow 0.2 - 0.3%
Registry of property ownership approx. 0.2%

6.2 Cost for Resale Property

On it´s second and subsequent transmission attracts transfer tax called Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales 7% [ ITP ]

Plus Valia: Plus Valia is based on the increase in value of the property, since the last time the ownership changed, this tax is applied to the increase in value that the vendor has enjoyed and should be paid by the vendor.
Normally the vendor pays this tax but as always everything is up for negotiation, some vendors do ask that the purchaser pays the Plus Valia as part of the deal.
So make sure that the vendor is going to pay the Plus Valia, or if not find out exactly how much you will have to pay on his behalf before you make your offer.
Your abogado will be able to find out from the Ayuntamiento [ Town hall ] the amount payable.

ITP: [Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales ] [Transfer tax]
On second and subsequent transmissions of a property the buyer has to pay ITP at 7%

Abogado, Notario and registry fees: Abogado [lawyer] fee: around 1%.
Notario fee: Depending on land and size of house, allow 0.2 - 0.3%
Registry of property ownership approx. 0.2%

Buildings and Contents Insurance for your new property

6.3 Additional notes for companies

The good news is that now in Andalucia, when a property is transferred from one Spanish company to another, the companies involved can elect to pay 16% IVA instead of 7% ITP but in this case the company would pay a higher rate of AJD [stamp duty] at 2%

ITP or IVA tax is not payable on a property owned by a Spanish company when the ownership of the company changes.
The company purchasing, would need to have a minimum of 2 shareholders, holding a maximum of 50% of the shares each, BUT if the tax authorities suspect that the beneficiary of a property owned by a company has changed [the one living in it], then all the transfer taxes and other costs will be applied!.
Warning: This is an area where you should always consult a specialist abogado, it is extremely difficult [some would say impossible] to determine exactly the assets and more importantly the liabilities a company has.

6.4 Maintenance cost of Spanish property

Having purchased your property you will be liable for the following expenses :

Rates ( IBI): Owned Property is subject IBI. Tax ( Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles). This local tax varies and is based on the Catastral value [ValorCatastral] of the property. this value is often considerably lower than the real value. On a property that has changed hands recently the Valor Catastral could be 75%, on a property which has not changed hands for 15 - 20 years or more, it could be much less. The tax varies depending on the area, but Generally on a property with a Valor Catastral of 120,000 euro you would expect to be taxed approx. 480 euros per year.

Rubbish disposal (Basura) : In some areas you will have to pay the Basura separately, in other areas it is included in the IBI.

Urbanization and Community fees: Properties on an Urbanization or in a Community will have to pay quarterly [or monthly] community fees, covering the running and maintenance costs of shared facilities which can include as private roads, drains, lighting, private water supplies, gardens, swimming pools etc. These costs vary considerably depending on the facilities available. The agent will advise you of the Community fees applying to a particular property.
If you are not resident in Spain, you are legally required to have a fiscal representative who is, an Asesor fiscal will take care of everything and keep you 100% legal for a small monthly fee.

Electricity Bills and gas Bottle: (Spanish homes do not has piped gas and if required is purchased in bottles)

Home Insurance
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7. Driving in Spain

EEC citizens are able to use their own national driving licence all other foreigners must pass a new driving test in Spain. An international driving licence is valid for one year in Spanish territory.

UK driving licence is valid in Spain for six months and then you must 'officially' choose on of the following routes: 1. Leave Spain. 2. Apply for your UK or other EU driving licence to be approved and stamped. 3. Apply for a Spanish driving licence.

To stamp your license you will need to take the documents listed below to the Provincial Traffic Headquarters (sometimes based at the police station)

1. Your valid UK or EU driving licence.
2. A copy of your NIE form.
3. A photocopy of both sides of the driving licence ID photograph card.
4. Your passport and one photocopy.

Car insurance is compulsory in Spain and an insurance company can be found easily in the yellow pages under 'seguros'. There are several English companies who deal with ex-pats insurance needs. For breakdown insurance the equivalent of RAC or AA is called the RACC

Car with foreign plates: Officially you are not permitted to drive a foreign plated car in Spain indefinitely. The maximum period 'per annum' is 6 months and you would have to garage your car for the remaining 6 months. This legislation is obviously difficult to police especially if you are an EEC citizen and able to drive using your own driving licence in Spain without an international licence.

The only real advantage of buying a car on tourist plates and remaining as a non-resident is to non-EU members, as the 16% IVA (VAT) and the Spanish special vehicle registration tax of 12 % would not be liable, a total saving of 28%.

Buying a car : Spain is the only country in Europe that levies a 12% 'special vehicle registration tax'. However, non-Spaniard EU citizens can avoid the tax by requesting that the car is fitted with a tourist registration plate, as opposed to Spanish. The tourist plate will have to be renewed every year and can be repeated as many times as you wish.

A car with Spanish plates: To buy a vehicle with Spanish plates you must have 'residency' not just fiscal residency but to own a property or to be able to present a certificate to show you are registered as an inhabitant (certificado de empadronamiento). However, buying a car on Spanish plates has certain advantages, such as easy to resell and payment in Spanish currency.

The advantages of buying plates are that the Spanish police are empowered to demand spot payment for traffic violations and can legally impound your car to ensure the fine is paid. Also, you can pay in Spanish currency and the vehicle will be easier to resell.
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8. Pets in Spain

Dogs and cats are required to have a Certificate of Origin and Good Health issued by a licensed veterinarian from the originating country of travel, which states:

1. The identification of the animal.
2. The originating country of travel (of the animal).
3. They have been examined before leaving the country and showed no clinical signs of disease.
4. They have been vaccinated against rabies between 1 and 12 months before entering Spain.

The following inoculation information is required:

1. Originating country of travel.
2. Date of vaccination.
3. Name and type of vaccination, manufacturing lot and laboratory where prepared.
4. Name and address of the veterinarian who administered it.

The Rabies vaccination certificate is valid for 12 months but the certificate of origin and good health is only valid for 10 days. (Dogs and cats under three months old are exempt from vaccinations).

The animal will NOT be allowed to enter Spain without a valid Rabies inoculation certificate or health record evidencing vaccination .

There is no quarantine requirement in Europe for a correctly documented pet. The pet must be micro chipped and vaccinated against rabies and you will receive a PETS Re-entry Certificate (PETS 1).

The animal will NOT be allowed to re-enter the UK until six months after the blood test to confirm immunity and there is also a mandatory worm and tick treatment needed.

For further information contact:
Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Departamento de Sanidad Veterinaria on:
Telephone: (0034) 91-347-8310
Information service E-mail: infomac@mapya.es

Ministry Website: http://www.mapya.es/
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9. Public Transport

Trains
RENFE is the state owned company and generally offers a good (if slow) service with possibly the cheapest fares in Europe. For further information and reservations contact (00 34) 902 24 02 02 or www.renfe.es/

Metro
Major cities have underground train networks which run regularly. As with most underground networks, it is advised to avoid peak times, as they can become overcrowded.

Buses
The local bus services in Spain are generally of a high standard and are relatively cheap. They run from around six in the morning until approximately midnight on weekdays and weekends, but on Sunday and Bank Holidays the services are drastically reduced. As in most countries the drivers will expect the correct change for the fare to be tendered and it is also necessary to flag down the bus, even if standing at a bus stop.

Car Hire
There numerous car hire companies throughout Spain and particularly in the popular tourists destinations. To hire a car you will need to supply your passport and full drivers licence and sometimes there is a minimum age limit of 21. Unlimited public liability insurance is generally included in the price

Taxis
Taxis can be flagged down, picked up at a taxi rank or ordered over the telephone. When taking a cab it is advisable to the check that it is licensed by checking the ID and are metered but have a set price for certain journeys. Tipping is a customary 5-10%.

Internal Flights
There is an extensive internal flight network throughout Spain provided by the national airline, Iberia and supplementary routes provided by the smaller carrier Aviaco.

For further information contact: (00 34) 902 400 500
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10. Education & Schools

State education is free but parents will be expected to purchase all textbooks and materials. Uniforms are not generally necessary except in Religious grant-assisted schools.

The obligatory age to start school in Spain is 5 years but in most parts schooling is available from 3 years. Children are usually registered at the town hall or directly to the school in May, ready for admittance in September.

Infant Education (Educación Infantil)
Infant Education throughout Spain is generally well taught and lasts for three years.

Primary Education (Educación Primaria)
Children progress into Primary Education at approximately 6 years old. The stage lasts for six years and is divided into three cycles and the classes will be mixed ability. In the third year term exams are introduced.

Secondary Education
At age 12, children start Secondary School, similar to the UK Comprehensive School system, with complete mixed ability groups. The first four years of secondary school are compulsory and the leaving age is 16 years, otherwise they can stay on and do the 2 year 'bachillerato' (academic) or 'modulos' (practical).

For further information about English Schools in Spain please the official website for The National Association of British Schools in Spain on http://www.nabss.org or by telephone 0207 727 2462.

University
Students planning to go to university must take an entrance exam and this will be taken into account together with the results of their 'bachillerato'

International Schools on the Costa del Sol

The schools listed below are international schools in the Costa del Sol area.

Aloha College (Nueva Andalucia)
Tel.: 952 81 27 29
Fax: 952 81 27 29
http://www.andalucia.com/aloha

Benalmádena International College (Nueva Torrequebrada)
Tel.: 952 56 16 66
http://www.bicbenal.com/

Calpe College (San Pedro)
Tel.: 952 78 14 79
Fax: 952 78 94 16
http://www.calpecollegeschool.com/

Colegio Las Chapas
Tel.: 952 83 16 16
Fax: 952 83 59 13

International School of Malaga
Tel.: 654 820 591
Fax: 952 22 67 09

Swans College (Marbella)
Tel.: 952 77 32 48
Fax: 952 77 64 31

St. Anthony's College (Fuengirola)
Tel.: 952 47 31 66
Fax: 952 46 20 21
http://www.stanthonyscollege.com/

Sunny View School (Torremolinos)
Tel.: 952 38 95 81
Fax: 952 37 26 95
http://www.nabss.org/sunny.htm

The English International College (East Marbella)
Tel.: 952 83 10 58
Fax: 952 83 89 92
http://www.eic.edu/

The International School (Sotogrande)
Tel.: 956 79 59 02
Fax: 956 79 48 16
http://www.sis.ac/

The Learning Centre (Hotel Artola)
Tel.: 952 83 80 78
Mobile: 607 375 096
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What to read about law & property in Spain ?

You and the Law in Spain by David Searl (Santana Books)

Buying a home in Spain by David Hampshire (Survival Books)

Going to Live in Spain by Harry King (How to Books)

Spanish Ministry of the Treasury booklet, called Taxation Regulations for Foreigners. (Publication F-9)

Complete Guide to Buying Property in Spain Anthony Ivor Foster
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Full Maintenance up to top of page

Full Maintenance We offer our customers the option to subscribe to our "FULL MAINTENANCE" formula. This formula will give access to a range of services tailored to our customers needs. All these services are centralised to insure that the projects and ideas of the customers are put into force in the least possible time.

Buy Spain Properties SL offers you the following services:

Electrical installations and maintenance
Brickwork
Carpentry Fixing household appliances
Electronics (Satellite dishes, Intercom, etc.)
Painting
Plumbing and gas
Gardens and pools
Air conditioning
Cleaning

The experience Buy Spain Properties SL has in maintenance allows us to offer high quality and a quick and effective service to our customers.

At Buy Spain Properties SL we believe that customers are most important and that is why we want you to know that we are at your disposal at any time.
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Interior Design up to top of page

At Buy Spain Properties SL we know that satisfied customers are the best publicity.

We are known for the quality of our services and our seriousness. We offer an exclusive service to each of our customers.

Our professional workforce will transfer all your goods and install them at your home: furniture, framed pictures, lamps, curtains and you do not need to deal with anything.