The Buyers Guide/The BIS guide to buying a Residential Property in Spain

Guide to buying Residential Property

RE-SALE PROPERTY

Once you´ve found your dream residential property and agreed on a price it is standard practice to be asked to pay a reservation fee.

As in the UK, asking prices here are negotiable and if you are interested in a property you can make an offer that is less than the asking price.

Some agents will ask you to pay a reservation fee when you put forward an offer, if the offer is unsuccessful the fee is fully refundable.
Once you have agreed an asking price the reservation fee then guarantees that the property will be taken off the market for an agreed period of time while the mortgage is put in place and valuations carried out.

A date will then be agreed for the buyer to pay a full deposit ( usually 10 % ) and a completion date will be set. This deposit meeting is usually attended by both vendor and buyer and the buyers lawyers may want to make sure certain details have been checked before the deposit is paid.

On completion you will be expected to pay the full amount.

To buy a residential property in Spain ( even as a holiday home ) you will need to open a Spanish bank account and obtain an NIE number. You will also need to use the services of a notary. Bars in Spain can assist in all these areas.

Please note purchase costs in Spain are much higher than in the UK. In Spain you should add in approx 10% of the asking price to your purchase costs.

 The lawyers fee will then be a further 1%. For a better idea of the purchase costs you will be expected to pay please see our purchase price guide.

OFF-PLAN PROPERTY

Buying an off plan property varies slightly in time scale from buying re sale.

Normally once you’ve agreed on a property a reservation fee will be required to guarantee your reservation and take the property off the market for an agreed length of time.  This is usually around 30 days.

Following this time period you will be expected to pay a larger deposit, usually around 20 – 40 %, but it’s worth remembering that payment terms vary from development to development.

Completion will then normally be between 18 months and 2 years after the phase release date, and the final balance will be due at this time.