Illustrates just how much value for money you really can expect if you are prepared for the struggle to buy a holiday home in Spain’s Costa Tropical, as there can be ‘no pain no gain’ in this conveyance ... a system very different to the UK.

On our first purchase of our ideal holiday home on Spain Costa Tropical by R & R Hitchmough

We first looked for homes abroad over the web to get a feeling of what was available and for what price range. We then contacted several real estate agents in the Costa Tropical area to arrange viewings within our time frame for our planned visit to the area. We had an idea of what type of property we wanted and that we preferred - a village house to a town house and we had a budget that we assumed would fit the bill, well we had been watching all those holiday property programmes at home so it was not unreasonable to assume that we would get what we wanted fairly painlessly.

First lesson learnt, website photographs don’t also turn out as good as they look on the screen; secondly lesson, some of the real estate agents we had arranged to meet worked from their homes, out of cars or local bars and did not live up to their scripted hype on their web sites. [#1] We had just about lost faith in the project, and being able to find somebody we felt we could really trust so far away from home and hopefully deliver something to suit our requirements when we met Martin from Tropicana Properties SL who had organised for us to view several properties within our budget and specifications.

The properties he showed us still did not live up to our expectations but Martin was honest enough to say straight away that for a budget of 55,000 Euros, even in 2003, this was all that was available in our requested locations on Spain’s Costa Tropical. The house we finally chose was a little typical Andalusian white house in Jete in need of renovation and modernisation (electrics, kitchen, bathroom, that sort of thing...). We had not planned to take on such a project when we first began our journey as we had thought we would have to do a little re-decorating to our taste but hey not much more(!), yet the terrace more than made up for this as it was essential that we had some outside space as I did not plan to stay in doors much. The view was magnificent and very restful and it looked over the mountain range of the beautiful Tropical valley.

Other members of the Tropicana Properties team also helped us to realise that this type of project was not so drastic and could be achieved, although to be honest we were a little unsure at that stage due to the fact that we would not be able to oversee the work that needed to be done by a builder. Tropicana Properties SL began the negotiation on the asking price, unlike England; Spanish owners do not like to negotiate the asking price of their properties and in fact they are more likely to raise the price if they think somebody is really so interested. They managed to get the asking price reduced by 4,000 euros from 55,000 euros to 51,000 euros which was some achievement, they also recommended an independent lawyer who spoke English, which was a great relief to us [#2]. Especially as this was a major purchase for us and we wanted to make sure that all the formalities were covered so that we would be buying in a safe and secure manner.

Problems arose due to the property not having an Escritura (title deed) [#3]  we did not realise at the time but in 2003 not many Spanish properties had this deed and it added to the length of time it took to finally complete on the property. We had naively thought that like at home the transaction from accepting to purchase would be several months, this did not turn out to be the case and it took just over a year to finalise due to different problems that cropped up along the way, each time our lawyer would inform us but communication was on a need to know basis and when you are in England it is easy to feel that things are going out of control.

Thank goodness for Martin at Tropicana Properties SL, if it had not been for him keeping us informed, sometimes on a daily basis via email, we may have given up on the purchase on more than one occasion. Their help did not stop once the purchase had been made, Martin would regularly send us pictures of the work as it was progressing at the house in Jete and write progress reports as to how far things had moved on, this was very reassuring and made us feel part of the process, it also enabled us to keep a ‘before’ and ‘after’ photo album that showed the journey of the renovation to completion. This diary we regularly show to family and friends after they have stayed at the house in Jete and they are amazed at the transformation.

The team also advised us about setting up a Spanish bank account and we found one with English speaking staff who were extremely helpful and useful. In fact they also provided online banking so we could manage our account even when we were in England. The team also gave us advice regarding the need to include in our budget the 10% that would be based on the cost of the house ( 51,000 euros plus +/- 5,100 Euros) to pay for Notary fees, transmission taxes, lawyer fees, registration, etc.

Without the help, support and advice from the Tropicana Properties SL team our families and our friends would not have had 3 years holidaying in our lovely Jete village holiday home. Just sometimes your dream of the ideal holiday home does not go quite as you originally expect it to, but don’t give up because it can happen and the old adage is true ‘no pain no gain’ but what a gain!!!
 

NOTES:

[#1] The Spanish property market is largely unrestricted, with few exclusivity contracts between vendor and selling agent. The consequence being that the system here is open to abuse; allowing local property finders to simply offer properties without knowing the condition of the property being sold. With the market so competitive too then it is often the case that various agents will offer the same property for sale at different prices. Though this is becoming less common as the more professional real estate agents look towards greater compatibility and transparency. Especially now with market prices the double of just 5 years ago in some areas.

[#2]  Spanish lawyers are an essential independent adjudicator when buying your first property in Spain. They should be able to speak your language, explain and answer all your questions and queries, and also offer advice on testate issues, taxation and fiscal implications for resident or non-resident status. This is particularly crucial with so many recent changes to the Capital Gains Tax system, the shift towards non-resident / resident equality in Spanish fiscal issues and the growth of information sharing between EU countries taxpayers and their banks.

[#3]  Escritura: In order to be valid, any property title deeds in Spain need to be signed and authorised by a Spanish notary. Following this they can then be recorded in the Property Ownership Register and are formal, legal proof of the ownership and characteristics of any property. The deeds for a property will  include the following information, much of which should also appear in the private sale contract agreement:
 The names and identification of both parties (normally the seller and buyer)
A detailed description of the property
Proof that the seller is officially registered in the Property Ownership Register as the owner and is named as such on the previous deeds
The value of the property
Any burdens attached to the property
Proof that payment of any communal charges is up to date
The sale price and method of payment
The notary is responsible for reading and explaining the deeds in the presence of both the buyer and seller before the deeds are signed and of making sure that the information is correct.

Because of the close collaboration between notaries and the Property Ownership Registry then there is little room for fraud or errors and offers peace of mind to the buyer that the sale is legitimate and the property is free of any hidden burdens. Nevertheless, while no system is perfect, anyone considering buying property in Spain would be well advised to hire a lawyer who will check all the details before the deeds are signed and the exchange of ownership takes place.