Articles: Property
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Buy to let in Spain
Lavapies is one of the best places to buy to let in Madrid
Spain is becoming a reference for property investors willing to buy affordable properties. To find a property investment at a low price is a must. The option Buy To Let in specific areas is a strong one. The Spanish Brick has analized in this article the potential of an area in Madrid centre: Lavapies.
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Madrid
Latest property prices and demographic trends
Demography is one of the driving factors of the property market in order to assess the needs of properties…and to be able to predict the market. In this article, we introduce some figures about demography forecast in Madrid and current prices in the Spanish capital that may help property investors.
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Letting in Spain
How to make money of your property in Spain
Many people planning to buy a holiday home are interested in owning a property that will provide them with an income, e.g. from letting, to cover the running costs and help with the mortgage payments. Letting a home for a few weeks or months in the summer can more than recoup your running costs and pay for holidays.
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Utilities in Spain
Electricy, gas and water
Electricity, gas and water connections and supplies are covered in this section. Immediately after buying or renting a property (unless utilities are included in the rent), you should arrange for the meter to be read, the contract (e.g. electricity, gas or water) to be registered in your name and the service switched on.
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Mortgage in Spain
What is important to the bank?
As an independent buy-side real estate agent we have experienced that people from northern Europe are usually not aware of mortgage possibilities and impossibilities in Spain. Some have simply never given it any thought, and most think they can easily get 100% loan to value on the Spanish property.
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100% mortgages in Spain
What’s the catch?
When you’re buying property in Spain, most banks will typically ask for a 30% deposit, so it’s natural to get excited by the prospect of a mortgage that asks for none at all. But what should also be natural is to ask yourself the following question: with a deposit of 30% being the norm, why am I being offered a 100% mortgage?
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Inspections & surveys
A checklist for inspecting a property
When you’ve found a property that you like, you should make a close inspection of its condition. Obviously, this depends on whether it’s an old house in need of complete restoration, a property that has been partly or totally modernised, or a modern home.
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Financing a property purchase in Spain
Advice from TRG
For many it’s an eagerly awaited time when a family’s dreams of owning a place in the sun are finally realised. We have heard many romantic tales of clients; “Just looking” by attending a property show in the UK. Turning a misty afternoon at Aintree Racecourse or a balmy summer’s evening at Sandown Park into the start of a love affair with a beautifully presented property overlooking the crystal Mediterranean.
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Resale homes
All you need to know when buying from a previous owner
The majority of homes for sale in Spain are ‘resale’ homes, i.e. any property which has been previously owned and occupied. There are essentially two types of resale home: a modern property, which has perhaps had only one or two owners, and an old property, which may be hundreds of years old.
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Heating & air-conditioning in Spain
Costs and alternatives
Central heating is essential in winter in northern and central Spain and is useful in some other areas – winters can be chilly everywhere with the exception of the Canaries. If you like a warm home in winter, you will almost certainly miss central heating, even on the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol.
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Selling Your Home in Spain
Price, presentation and estate agents
Although this site is primarily concerned with buying a home in Spain, you may wish to sell your home at some time in the future (or you may wish to sell a home in order to buy another). Before offering your Spanish home for sale it’s advisable to investigate the state of the property market.
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Community properties in Spain
Costs, fees, management and restrictions
Properties in Spain with common elements shared with other properties are owned outright through a system of part-ownership, similar to owning a condominium in the US. Community properties include apartments, townhouses, and single-family homes on a private estate with communal areas and facilities.
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Buying a new home in Spain
Advantages & disadvantages
Spain has experienced a building boom in the last decade or so, during which the amount of developed land has increased by over 30 per cent and, according to figures published by the consultancy group Euroconstruct, around one-third of all new homes in Europe have been built in Spain in recent years.
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Renting before buying in Spain
All you need to consider
If you’re uncertain about exactly what sort of home you want and where you wish to live, it’s advisable to rent a furnished property for a period in order to reduce the chances of making a costly error, particularly when you’re planning to buy in an unfamiliar area.
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Spanish resort property
The rise in celebrity golf courses
The game: the first traces of a golf like game seems to have come from the Netherlands, in around 1297, where a Dutch game was played with a stick and a leather ball. The player who hit the ball into a target several hundreds metres away, the most number of times was deemed the winner. The word golf itself has its origins in the Dutch word “kolf” meaning stick, club and bat.
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A second home in Spain
A growing number of Europeans own one
Over the last few years, Spain has proven an attractive location for buying a second home. Its climate, culture and of course beautiful sunny beaches appeal to many. The large coastline has attracted many construction companies to build homes to the specific needs and wants of foreign buyers.
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Sign on the dotted line
How to avoid making a mistake
Have you just seen your dream home? Are you about to sign a purchase contract? Are you sure the property you are buying is all legal? Are you sure the vendor is the rightful owner? Will you get your deposit back in case there is something the matter?
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Life in a Traditional Spanish Town House
Everybody's Dream?
Maybe you have seen them on Spanish property websites; you certainly know them from travel documentaries and photographs of Spanish old towns, the traditional town or village property: very pretty, with little balconies and flower pots with trailing geraniums, and possibly some planted pots outside the wooden front door.
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Who is looking after your interest?
Professional advice is imperative
Most information services about the process of purchasing a property in Spain – or pretty much anywhere else in the free World - have one abiding theme. Their mantra is clear - make sure that you retain an independent professional advisor - most often a lawyer – from the start of your purchase process. If you take on board no other advice, please heed this basic pearl of wisdom.
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Mortgages in Spain
How to get a home loan for Spain
Mortgages or home loans (hipotecas) are available from most Spanish banks (for residents and non-residents), foreign banks in Spain, and overseas and offshore banks. In recent years, Spanish and foreign lenders have arranged a record number of mortgages, the average amount borrowed being around €120,000.
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Mortgages
How to get a mortgage in Spain
Spanish mortgages tend to have major differences to the UK and some other countries due to a number of different factors but the major factor is that Spain has a Notary system and everything regarding Mortgages and property or even personal loans must be signed for at the Notary.
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Property Pitfalls
Top tips on avoiding legal complications
By Oscar Ricor (Ricor Abogados). In all markets there are people who play by the rules and those who break them. Both the rapid explosion in the Spanish property market over the last decade and the arrival of many foreign purchasers has attracted a fair amount of sharks.
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What is snagging?
A beginner’s guide
As a building settles on its foundations, there can be significant knock-on effects to its structure and finish. Problems can range from major shifts of the building’s structure, to a cupboard sticking or drains not working. Identifying faults and getting them rectified before you complete a property purchase is called ‘snagging’.
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Completing a new property purchase
Snagging makes this safer
The process of completing a new home purchase usually starts when the builder or developer gives you a completion date. Depending on the agreement you have already made, there may be some tight deadlines for you to complete and penalties if you do not do so without good cause.
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Snagging horror stories
What’s behind the plastering?
My name is Roy Howitt. I brought a home on the Orihuela Costa many years ago. This was a bad experience that taught me a lot. This was the reason I founded InspectaHomeSpain, a company which helps people buy new properties that have been properly inspected.
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