Having fun while thinking of buying a property in Spain
You have decided to buy your dream holiday home in Barcelona or by the Spanish coast. Or you are simply looking for a safe and profitable investment, or even better, you have decided to move to Spain.
You start by asking your friend Google for help: “how to buy a property in Spain?”, “how to get a mortgage in Spain?”, “flats for sale in Barcelona”, “areas in Barcelona”, ”where to buy”, “ great real estate deals in Barcelona”, “real estate market in Spain”, prices per m2 in Mallorca”, “what documents do I need when buying in Spain?”, “What is a NIE ?”, “how to get a NIE?”, ”taxes when buying a flat in Spain”, “taxes when owning a property in Spain”, “non-residents taxes when buying a property in Spain”, “income taxes in Catalunya”…..
Make this simple: Contact Us
Your friend Google once again helped you to search online; on multiple portals and dozens of real estate agencies websites, you found some nice properties. Soon you want to go to Spain for a couple of days and view as many flats as possible.
That cozy flat with private terrace and 5 minutes walk from the beach is published by a private seller. You would like to call and get more information, but your Spanish resumes to “ fiesta”, “paella” and “sangria”? So you ask you friend Google to translate and you send an email.
The other favourite flats are listed by multiple agencies. In order to arrange 10 viewings, you will have to contact, on average, 9 -10 different agencies, give your details to 9 – 10 secretaries and then wait.
- 50% of the agencies will not reply within 24h
- 30% of them will not reply even within 48h
- 10% -15% will never reply back
But you really want to see that flat with Catalan ceiling so you will have to follow up with a second email or a phone call and then wait. But wait… , you also want to book your flights so you do not want to wait.
Let the fun continue …
Some of the agencies have finally got back to you, and now you will have to find time to explain all of your search criteria to 5–7 different agents
Compare all of the selections of properties that they have given to you, to ensure that there are no duplicates.
Check the location of each property, find a logical order for viewings and then wait and hope that 5-7 agents will be able to confirm all of the viewings, with the sellers, at the time you requested.
Happy viewings
You are a happy tourist in Barcelona, ready to see all the flats you planned. With the help of your friend Google you try to find your way but the cute small streets in the old city are tricky and you get lost. You are late to the first viewing and now you have to let all of the other 6 agents that you may be a bit late to their viewings too ☺ . One of the agents won’t be able to wait for you and you missed the flat.
Multiple agents, different styles, a lot of information for you to take in.
After you had to come back to Spain for viewings a second time, lucky you, you found The One. And now what?
Questions & more doubts
What is a fair price? Will your real estate agency negotiate in your best interests, taking into consideration that its commission is a % of the final selling price and that it is paid by the seller? What if the property has any encumbrances? How are you going to understand all of the papers in Catalan or Spanish? Can you trust 100% the lawyer that your real estate agency recommended you? How can you know if the notary charges you too much?
The truth is that you do not know. You just hope that everybody involved will be professional and work in your best interest.
Post Purchase headaches
You got the keys and you are the happy owner of a property under the Spanish sun. But your worries are not finished. You have to pay several taxes in different places to register the property under your name. You need to transfer all utilities to an account under your name. You want to ask your old friend, Google, how to do all of this, but you can’t because you do not have internet in your new flat ☺ . So you have to take care of this first and be prepared to wait as it takes few weeks to get installed. But keep in mind that you can’t wait too long, because you only have 30 days, after the deed was signed, to pay all your taxes.
Do you want to furnish your flat or maybe even renovate it, to rent it out asap, but you do not know where to start?
You are abroad and your tenant tells you the light in the bathroom is not working, and he insists that it is not because of the light bulb. What do you do? Do you fly to Spain just to find out it was actually the light bulb?!
Save yourself the headache – make it simple: Contact Us.