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Spain buyers market tempts expats but care should be taken
| Published: | 2 Sep at 6 PM |
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Spain is back in the headlines again as a tempting property investment as well as a great place to retire, but care still needs to be taken when purchasing a home.
Over the past decade, many enthusiastic buyers who didn’t check the facts were left without homes due to unscrupulous developers and dodgy local authorities. Now that the law has changed and most will be getting recompense, the Mediterranean hotspot is increasingly popular with would-be expats.
The basics of buying whilst protecting your investment are relatively straightforward, starting with the need to hire the area’s best conveyancing lawyer. All agreements must be in writing and translated by an experienced translator, and the necessary checks as regards infrastructure permission on the land must be done.
Signing up to nothing unless your lawyer is present is important and, sadly, so is the good advice not to trust your estate agent to give advice or carry out inspections. Spanish homes are either constructed on Urbanizo land with full infrastructure permission, or are built on Rural land.
Ideally, your chosen plot should be in or close to a village, close to the nearest large town, under an hour away from an international airport and, most importantly, less than half an hour from the nearest beach.If you’ve just won the lottery, one of Marbella’s luxury developments is perfect for you, but if economy is a must, places such as Sotogranade offer better prices and a larger variety of homes.
Before singing on for a home in Spain, whether it’s for retirement, letting out or long, regular holidays in the sun, you need to ask yourself three important questions in order to ensure you’re on the right track. The first question - is your property’s future saleability in, say, 10 years’ time a certainty, and will another buyer want to live there? Secondly, can you make a profit if a fast, emergency sale becomes necessary? Thirdly, will your home still be in demand should market conditions change for the worse, or even for the better.
Over the past decade, many enthusiastic buyers who didn’t check the facts were left without homes due to unscrupulous developers and dodgy local authorities. Now that the law has changed and most will be getting recompense, the Mediterranean hotspot is increasingly popular with would-be expats.
The basics of buying whilst protecting your investment are relatively straightforward, starting with the need to hire the area’s best conveyancing lawyer. All agreements must be in writing and translated by an experienced translator, and the necessary checks as regards infrastructure permission on the land must be done.
Signing up to nothing unless your lawyer is present is important and, sadly, so is the good advice not to trust your estate agent to give advice or carry out inspections. Spanish homes are either constructed on Urbanizo land with full infrastructure permission, or are built on Rural land.
Ideally, your chosen plot should be in or close to a village, close to the nearest large town, under an hour away from an international airport and, most importantly, less than half an hour from the nearest beach.If you’ve just won the lottery, one of Marbella’s luxury developments is perfect for you, but if economy is a must, places such as Sotogranade offer better prices and a larger variety of homes.
Before singing on for a home in Spain, whether it’s for retirement, letting out or long, regular holidays in the sun, you need to ask yourself three important questions in order to ensure you’re on the right track. The first question - is your property’s future saleability in, say, 10 years’ time a certainty, and will another buyer want to live there? Secondly, can you make a profit if a fast, emergency sale becomes necessary? Thirdly, will your home still be in demand should market conditions change for the worse, or even for the better.
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