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BRITISH READY TO BUY PROPERTY AGAIN IN SPAIN – BUT LEGALLY!

Dave Bull / 2010-01-22 14:36:51

Ready to buy again but having learnt a number of harsh lessons

News that many of the people visiting international property shows in the UK last year were still looking to move abroad, specifically Spain, indicates that while the downturn has made a difference, there are signs that things are beginning to happen and that the green shoots of recovery, although sparse, are starting to make an appearance.

Spain’s main competitors were the USA and Australia and New Zealand, which have been offering immigration packages at some shows. But the survey results from these shows are especially good news for Spain, which is confirmed to be the favourite destination of potential property-buyers still with over 60 per cent of visitors indicating an interest in Spain. France came a poor second despite its familiarity and geographical proximity to British buyers.

Surveys of the public attending the show indicated that many buyers have been waiting for the right moment, and are now thinking about making a move, as the thinking is that house prices are unlikely to drop any further.

The reasons for choosing Spain, were, as one would expect, the climate, the friendly people, and previous holidays in certain areas in the past. It was also noted that buyers were now more aware of the problems now facing property investors who had chosen destinations that were not offering many flights in and out.

Some places have even cancelled flights altogether while others have cut drastically during the crunch but locally, Malaga airport continues to be served by numerous airlines with dozens of flights every day to the UK.

However, what is it exactly they can expect when they get here? As more and more we about cases hear concerning expats duped into buying illegal properties or falling foul of a law that has previously been ignored. The case in Albox, Almeria where nine British home owners stand to lose their homes following a demolition order has now developed into a diplomatic row with Ambassador Giles Paxman getting involved and asking for a meeting to try and resolve the situation.

President of the Junta de Andalucía, José Antonio Griñán, told Press last Thursday that he had not received ‘any notification or letter’ from the British Ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman, regarding the demolition of the nine British owned properties but British diplomats are insisting that Ambassador Paxman has written and sent a fax, but speaking to journalists in Córdoba, José Antonio Griñán, said that the building licences for the properties had already been contested by the Junta at the time as not being considered as legal. He insisted that the Junta had therefore met its obligations regarding the matter, and that the properties were illegal.

The Junta’s Councillor for Housing, Juan Espadas, has now made a call for calm from the nine property owners insisting that his department would be looking at the matter ‘case by case’ and that problem had arisen because of the ‘speculative interests of professional defrauders’ who had attracted foreign investors by offering the chance of building on non-buildable land without explaining exactly what any problems could be.

AUAN, the Association against infringing people’s Property Rights, said in a statement released on Friday, ‘We are protesting against legal and planning uncertainty, against bad administration and corruption, against the failure to respect citizens’ human rights and against the failure of the administration to comply with European Parliament resolutions’.

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Comments

Daniel Gonzalez 26-08-2010 / 12:36

Hello Everybody.

I am Spanish , I have 15 years experience in the property market , i have a official degree in spanish property law and i am used to dealing with beaurocratic townhalls , so i think i know what i am talking about.

To both Cliff Carte and Pops

Thabnk you both for trying to give Spain a bad name . 99% of all transactions go by smoothly and are legal .

The 1% that do not are not because Spanish laws are crooked ( there very similar as in the UK ) its because people like yourselves think they know everthing and they think that dont need lawyer.....get realistic 1- Spanish use lawerers , we use lawyers even to buy a dog!!!! . Lesson in life : pay for a lawyer before spending youre lifes savings....its cheaper 2- I have a degree in property and when i buy a house i still get a lawyer , why? , becuase i do not know everything

To eveybody think of buying in Spain : before buying call the brittish embassy in Spain and get them to give you a list of reputable english talking lawyer....you dream in spain will go smoothly

Daniel Gonzalez 26-08-2010 / 12:28

Hello Everybody.

I am Spanish , I have 15 years experience in the property market , i have a official degree in spanish property law and i am used to dealing with beaurocratic townhalls , so i think i know what i am talking about.

TO Kalkals :

You are correct in asuming that that the old laws ( previous to 1992 ) apply to you r property , That you do not have a cedula de habitibilidad ( certificate of habitation ) is normal . I f you have mains electric and mains water i would not worry about it.

Should you really need there is a law that states that if the house is more than 5 years ld you automatically have a right to get it ( very few papers needed ) The process is very simple , for more information you should contact the town hall stating this law ( unless you state it they will not do anything )

Best regards and i hope it helps you

kalkals 10-02-2010 / 15:50

Does anyone know where you stand on houses built 20 years ago on rustic land,well before all the law changes?,Will we be judged differently? My cortijo has deeds,nota simple which outlines boundaries,plot and house size.It has mains water and electric and a morgage from a large spanish bank. The house was built according to the law at the time. We have applied to the catastro to register the house as we found out only the land is mentioned. I was told this was commom for older properties... The house does not have a cetificate of habitation,as we bought the house before it was compulsary to have one before 1997. We are going to the town hall to obtain a "Licence de no infraction",to prove that the house met with all the requirements when it was built,and therefore legal....we hope this will be enough get a habition license...if not,who will buy it?,How can we prove it is legal?....i have heard,if the request a habitation licence from the town hall and they dont reply in 3 months,then they have to grant you one under the "Administative Silence Law". What a mess all of this is!.....

Phil East 30-01-2010 / 01:06

Hi
My wife and i purchased our villa in Javea in 1989, we then had a 10 year fight to legalise the property along with 60 other property owners on the Entre Pinos estate.
Many of us paid twice for infrastructure and certification the developer had not passed on our money for, initially we had electricity on an extension cable and the power was cut off on many occassions along with the water.
We formed a residents association and thought this through the courts for many years, we legalised the properties and ended up with beautiful villa's.
Then when trying to sell , the creep of a British estate agent tried to cheat us out of 50,000 pounds, we played a game with this cretinous clown for a few weeks then sent him packing.If asked what is the lowest you will accept for your property,they are more than likely going to take a large deposit of a purchaser who they will try to keep away from you, and short change you of some big bucks. Insist on meeting any potential purchaser and talk prices with them. So buying in Spain is still the mine field it was then, full of crooks.
So be warned and be careful.

cliff carter 25-01-2010 / 17:30

The serious problems regarding lack of respect of property rights in Spain relate to LEGALLY acquired property as well. Our legally built house was nationalised without any financial compensation under the Spanish Coastal Law.LEY DE COSTAS
I suggest you do not buy property in Spain until they acknowledge the AUKEN report from the European Parliament and start respecting legally acquired property rights.
Until then go to live in SPAIN enjoy yourself but RENT dont buy.

Gerry Bird 25-01-2010 / 11:27

My wife & I, own a property on the Orihuela Costa. It is on an urbanisation, and we have metered water and electricity. But no Cedula de Habitacion ?
The town Hall has been looking into it for over a year !
Bah utter shambles !! A terrible place !!!

Martin 25-01-2010 / 10:25

Friendly where I live. I feel sorry for those who have been caught out, but agree I have also seen people proceed with a less than legal purchase just because it was cheap......then stress when things didn't work out. There are green shoots - have seen more properties locally selling, but mainly seems to be Spanish buyers snapping up bargains.

Denday 25-01-2010 / 09:30

We have many Spanish friends as well as spanish business partners. However I do agree with many expats that it seems like one rule for the spanish and another for foreigners although there have been spanish also that have had similar problems with illegal Property.
My wife and I have had many conversations over the years with our friends about the foreigners living in there country and how they feel about it in general, and every one of them have said the same thing "learn to speak Spanish" even if it is just a little.
Estate Agents: we have had our home on the market for almost 18 months and although we are asking a very realistic price (taking a sizable loss) was told that we should reduce again by 20.000 which we did and 1 week later had a Dutch family view and was told by the Agent that they offered the full asking price. The family came unexpected to our house the following evening to ask a few questions, it was then that we realized the Agent had put almost 50.000 euros on top of the price we was receiving. Now im not saying that all Agents are the same but many are no different than some of the Crooked and greedy Spanish builders.

Pops 24-01-2010 / 23:24

"...there are signs that things are beginning to happen and that the green shoots of recovery, although sparse, are starting to make an appearance."

Cobblers.

This article was written by (or sponsored by) an estate agent or developer attempting to bull-up the market. Crawl back under your rock. No one with even a grain of sense will buy anything other than their weekly groceries in Spain until the Spanish government steps in and guarantees property and ownership rights. That means, when you buy a legal home in Spain no one can come along in the future and change the law to make it illegal, or take it away from you without full and immediate compensation.

And Spanish pigs will never fly.

Stuart Meadows. Independent Estates 24-01-2010 / 19:58

I like many other people feel very sorry for these poor people that have been duped into buying illegal plots and property in Spain by these unscruplious parasites making money out of other peoples trust and misery.

Unfortunately it gives well established Independent Estate Agents like ourselves bad publicity.

However I had a friend and neighbour who wanted to buy a plot of land to build a new house and asked my advice, I looked into the plot at my own time and expense and discovered the plot was totally illegal and strongly advised him not to go ahead with the purchase, may I add we had this conversation several times over a period of time.
Two years later to my suprise this chap walked into my office having gone ahead with the purchase, built his house and pool and inevitably had problems getting a habitation certificate so he could conect to mains water and electricity, which incidently another two years later still jasnt been granted for the illegal plot, he is paying absorbadent amounts for his builders supply.
When I asked him why did he purchase this plot against all my independent advice over many months, the simple answer he gave was IT WAS CHEAP.

So what I am saying in essence is that some trusting people unfortunately come unstuck, however there are also people that go ahead knowing the dangers, why, greed.

If anyone would like Independent advice, please feel free to contact us.

Stuart Meadows