Property in Spain

In addition to the fifty to sixty million tourists that visit Spain every year, Spain is home to over forty-five million permanent residents.  If you have visited Spain on a vacation and fallen in love with the country, you may be considering buying a piece of property in Spain and making it your permanent home.  On the other hand, you may not be planning on permanently moving to Spain, but you want to purchase property there so that you will have a home away from home when you are on vacation in Spain.  Finally, you may simply be like other savvy real estate investors and are interested in buying property in Spain as an investment, instead of buying it for personal use.  Regardless of the motives behind your desire to buy property in Spain, this guide will provide you with all the information you need to begin the process of finding and purchasing your first piece of property in Spain.

Know Where to Look

With forty-five million residents, Spain is a large country.  Therefore, in addition to deciding that you want to buy a piece of property in Spain, you need to identify the region where you want to purchase your piece of property.  If you are planning on moving to Spain permanently, you will want to consider factors such as the cost of living, employment opportunities, education system (if you have children) and the variations in the climate throughout the year.

If you are purchasing your property to use during your vacations to Spain, you will obviously want to look in the area of Spain that you most enjoy visiting.  And if you are buying a piece of investment property in Spain, you will want to take some time to learn about the housing market throughout Spain and research where the most popular locations are for investing in real estate.

Use Caution When Finding an Estate Agent

Unlike the United Kingdom, where an individual has to be properly certified in order to become a real estate agent, estate agents in Spain do not have to go through the same type of certification.  Therefore, while there are lots of dependable estate agents, there are just as many who want nothing more than to scam unsuspecting foreign customers out of their money.  Before you agree to hire an estate agent, make sure they can give you references of other foreign customers who they have worked with.

Understand All of the Expenses Involved

When you buy a piece of property in Spain, you have to realize that it is going to cost more than simply the price on the property listing.  Therefore, it is important for you to take into consideration all of the factors that will influence the price of the property you are buying.

Additional factors that will most likely influence the price of your purchase include exchange rates, property taxes, mortgage expenses and the cost of hiring an estate agent, legal consultant, translator and a notary (who is required to complete the purchase of any property in Spain).