When buying a property in Spain, it is critical that you, as the buyer, conduct your own thorough research. Any liability of costs associated with new purchases are your responsibility. So be thorough, and be sure before you make any property offers. Don’t expect your solicitor, and especially not your estate agent, to inform you of all the costs involved.
VAT (or IVA, as its known in Spain) is currently set at 10% of the value of your purchase price, and not the value of your mortgage. If you buy a house worth 200,000 euros, you will be charged 20,000 euros. This is generally paid once the property is handed over during the notary process.
Expected cost – 10% of your agreed purchase price.
Agency fees – I would imagine you have already taken this into account. It is an obvious big cost of buying property which needs to be addressed. Ranging from 2% to 5% of the agreed purchase price, agency fees spain address list can be very expensive. Ensure to check with your agent upfront to comprehend their total fee. Also be sure to verify if this fee includes IVA tax or not, which is currently set at 21%.
If you are yet to find the property of your dreams, why not try looking on various property portal’s on line. Many portals offer listings displayed directly from the owner, meaning upon sale, you can save yourself any agency fees.
Expected cost – Estimate up to 5% of your total purchase price.
Legal Fees – Depending on the level of legal service you require, the fee will either increase or decrease. Those of you buying property direct from the bank or from a developer, are likely to see much lower charges. This is because the level of work involved is much less than when purchased through a third party owner.
Do push your solicitor to give you a final upfront fee in writing for the work they are expected to carry out. Also do not be afraid to haggle, nobody is above giving new customers a little discount.
Expected cost – Ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 euros depending on level of service required.
Mortgage Costs – Again the costs associated with your mortgage depend on the value of the mortgage required to purchase the property. To be sure budget around a further 1% of the value of the mortgage. It is also important to note the level of mortgage required will increase the cost of the Notary, when completed.
Notary Costs – Notary costs are generally always paid by the buyer. But again to be on the safe side, budget around 1% of the total purchase price. Often these costs can be at around 0.5%, but allowing for up to 1% is a much safer amount to account for.
Property Registry Costs – To be on the safe side budget an additional 1% of your purchase price for registration costs.
Electricity Connection Fees – A rare point mention, which you won’t find on many lists of this type. Whether the property is a new build or has been lived in previously, you are changing electricity accounts, and for that there is a charge of generally around 300 euros.
Expected cost – 300 euros plus (one off)
Other Costs – If you have taken a mortgage out, please double check with that bank their additional mortgage policies. Some banks in Spain require new mortgage holders to take out buildings insurance, life insurance, contents insurance and other similar policies, purely as a pre-requisite to being granted a mortgage.
You may also want to look at getting a survey carried out on the property in advance of purchase. This cost needs to be taken into account as well. It is not required in Spain prior to purchase, but with many second hand homes, it is often sensible to first get the building checked out by a professional.
