Buying a property in Spain
A Czech or Slovak citizen is not limited in the purchase of a property in Spain and can be owned by both natural and legal persons.
Purchase procedure
NO, bank account
The first step in the process of buying a property is to process the NIE and opening a bank account, as the buyer can only pay the purchase price through his account with a Spanish bank.
Reservation agreement
The selection of the property is usually followed by a reservation contract, in which the buyer pays a deposit of usually 5-10% of the price of the property (if the buyer withdraws from the contract, the deposit is forfeited). The reservation contract itself deals with the method of payment, including payment of taxes and fees associated with the purchase of real estate. The Bank will issue an Initial Banking Certificate to the Buyer, which proves that you have deposited the money necessary to pay the purchase price, taxes and fees, or that you are preparing a mortgage contract with the Bank.
Notarial deed of property transfer (Escritura de compraventa)
The seller of the property, together with an authorized representative of Mediterránea REI prepare a notarial deed of ownership of the property, Escritura de compraventa, which is the only contractual form of acquisition of the property, and is drawn up by a notary. The deadlines and amount of individual installments of the purchase price of the property are included in these minutes. The actual signature of the registration, or at the same time a mortgage contract is also signed. From that moment on, the property becomes the property of the client, who can dispose of it freely. Immediately after making a notarial deed on the ownership of a property, the notary applies for registration of a change of owner in the land register, which usually takes place within 4-6 months (up to 20 months for development projects under construction). However, the signed Escritura de compraventa itself is proof of ownership. Notary fees and taxes associated with the transfer of property are paid by the notary and are always paid by the buyer.
Costs
The estimated cost of buying a property in Spain is:
- real estate transfer tax (8-10%) – only for „second-hand“ real estate, the amount depends on the province and in some provinces also onthe price, or VAT of 10% of the price of real estate for residential housing and 21% of real estate prices for commercial real estate
- costs of notary fees and other fees associated with the purchase (approx. 3%)
Costs related to the operation of the property in Spain:
- property income tax
- local property tax
- property tax
- community fees (150-250 EUR / year)
- service costs (electricity, water, telephone, gas, cleaning, etc.)
- real estate insurance
- The fee for the insertion of the purchase contract into the real estate register – is scaled according to the price of the property.
- State tax (so-called stamp) amounting to 0.5% of the purchase price.
- Notary fees around 1% of the purchase price.
- Legal fees (no lawyer required) 0.5 – 1% of the purchase price.
- Real estate agency commission 0% – 3% (including VAT) of the purchase price.
- Taxes and deposit fees are calculated by the notary when drawing up the purchase contract (Escritury).