Do you like summer, beaches, and decent climate over the entire year? Do you like to meet different cultures and check out the mentalities around the world? If the answer to both questions is “yes”, then you must be passionate about traveling. If you prefer European countries that have beautiful architecture, beaches, and amazing nightlife, then Spain can be the right choice. There are a bunch of places where you can go and enjoy your holiday.
However, have you ever thought about buying a house in Spain? Deciding on that move can be especially good for a certain group of people. For starters, as mentioned, if you are a travel guru, then having a house in Spain is an amazing thing. You can go there whenever you want and explore the natural beauties of the country. Despite that, you will also get the chance to rent your house and ensure a passive income that way.
Finally, certain parts of Spain are the amazing location for people that retired. They can enjoy their old days on some beautiful beaches and worry about nothing. Everything we just said seems amazing, doesn’t it? However, if you are not from Spain, then you will probably be confused when the entire process starts. That is the reason why strangers should carefully go through every single step they have to make.
In this article, we will highlight all the possible pitfalls to avoid when buying a house in Spain. It is going to be much easier to buy a property in this lovely country when someone tells you which things you should put into consideration. Let’s find them out together!
1. Choosing the Wrong Lawyer
We will start with the basics. You, as a foreign buyer, will have to collaborate with a local lawyer and real estate agent. Finding a real estate agent is not that difficult as there are many of them such as javeaestateagent.com that offer their services online. You can easily check out the reviews of previous customers and get the necessary social proof. On the other hand, finding a good lawyer is going to be much tougher. The biggest mistake you can make is to hire the same lawyer as the local buyer.
Keep in mind that buyer and lawyer can be friends. Even if they are not, they won’t hesitate to make a deal that will meet the expectations of both of them. Do not think that they will scam you or trick you. It may happen that they will together try to convince you to spend more money than necessary. Why would you spend 10 or 20 thousand dollars more when you can use that amount to design your new house? Doesn’t that seem like a lot better idea?
2. Believing that Price on the Contract is the Final Price
This is probably the most common mistake that people make. When you sign a contract with the seller, the price you will see on the document is not the final one. Just like in any other place, there are always certain additional costs (some of them are even hidden) you will have to cover and enjoy your new living place.
So, which costs will appear when you buy a house? For starters, you will have to pay the property tax. Despite that, every buyer in Spain has to register his new home in the Land Registry. That would mean that you need to cover the notary fees as well that are often not low.
Despite that, we would also like to provide you with one small lesson here. You, as a buyer, need to understand there is a big difference between cadastral value and market value. The cadastral value is determined by the local authorities. It is the amount of money you will need to pay for taxes.
But, you are probably wondering now what happens if the cadastral value is higher than the market value. In that case, the tax costs you need to cover are going to be even higher. These calculations are something you need to make even before you purchase a new house. Being unfamiliar with the costs is not an excuse, and you will have to pay penalties in case you do not cover them.
3. Not Researching Your House Good Enough
Researching the house and all the important details about it is essential for every house buying, especially when you are doing that in a foreign country. For starters, you need to research the neighborhood and try to figure out whether it is a place where you would want to live (or spend your holiday there). On the other hand, you also need to explore the licenses that you need to get for a certain neighborhood.
Some people do not chase houses at some urban locations. Instead of that, they would rather decide to buy a house in rural areas. In villages, rules are a bit specific. Because of that, you need to ensure that everything around the house you want to buy is legal. Finding a confirmation about the property is not difficult.
You can do that by visiting the city hall or require reports from the local authorities. In most cases, you will get the report in English as well. However, if that option is not available, then you will have to ask the lawyer to deliver an English version.
4. Not Understanding All the Terms In Contract
Are you a lawyer? Translation of the contract is not going to mean a lot if you are not familiar with formal terms. Because of that, trying to end the entire process without the assistance of a lawyer would be a huge mistake. You will not understand all the responsibilities that you have without professional assistance.
5. Not Applying for NIE On Time
For those that do not know, NIE is actually an ID you will get in Spain as a foreigner. Without that document, you will not manage to legally buy a house across the entire country. Getting NIE is a process that lasts which is something that most people do not know. Because of that, you need to start the procedure on time and ensure everything is going in the right direction.
