Buying guide in Spain: Casa Select Plan

When searching for your dream home, there are several criteria that your house will have
to meet. Besides the characteristics of the dwelling, it is important that you also consider
any future requirements you may have.
Ask yourself questions like
(and consider whether you will feel the same in 5 or 10 years)

• How would you like to use the property, as a holiday home for a couple of times per year, (semi-) permanent residence or as an (rental) investment?• What type of property: town house, apartment or detached villa?
• A property with shared facilities or private pool?
• Would you prefer to be near the coast, in a city or the quiet countryside?
• Do you prefer a re-sale property or new construction? Are you wanting to renovate a property or ready to move in?
• What budget do you have available and want to invest with mortgage?

Your budget you should take into account: 

1) Purchase costs: These costs are around 11-12% of the purchase price. The main portion is for the 8% transfer tax. Then there are the notary fees, legal fees and land registry costs. If you have a Spanish mortgage you should also take into account the opening costs of about 1,5% of the mortgage amount. These are all costs that should be paid by you when purchasing a home. Of course, the seller has his own costs such as broker’s costs (not paid by the buyer) and capital gains tax.

2) Annual taxes and charges: Like property tax (IBI), service, water, electricity costs and rubbish collection tax. 

On our website we offer you a selection of properties located on the coast or inland on the east side of Malaga.

The search option, allows you to search for only those properties that meet your specific requirements. If a search shows that there are no properties available that meet your requirements or if you prefer us to personally search for you, please contact us via email or complete the contact form with your requirements and wishes.

Before you travel to Spain we will agree with you which properties will be viewed during your visit. We will make arrangements with the property owners, key holders and/or project developers, so everything is arranged on arrival and you do not lose unnecessary time during your stay.

Once you are here and you wish to change your selection criteria, we are flexibile and, if time allows, will make sure that where possible we will change the property selection to meet your adjusted wishes and requirements.

During your visits, we will point out the advantages and disadvantages of the property: issues such as construction (quality), the current and future environment, new (infrastructural) developments in the area, change in value and letting possibilities.

Once you've found your dream home, we highly recommend you to visit this property at least one more time before you make a final decision.

Now that you have found your dream home what happens next? This is the moment that you will make an offer. The negotiation consists of two parts: a) Price b) Conditions.

• The price negotiation strategy may be influenced by the nationalities of the buyer and seller.

• The seller might accept a lower price in order to achieve a quick completion.

• The inventory is often included. Since the sellers are often located outside Spain, it is for them more costly to remove the furniture.

You make the decision as to which offer and conditions we will put forward to the vendor, of course, we advise you where possible. In general the negotiation is verbal and the final agreement on price, terms & conditions will be documented in the reservation.

The Notary in Spain has no research obligation, so we advise you to consult a registered, local Spanish solicitor when you are going to purchase a property. A lawyer can take away possible stress (for more information about lawyers and notaries, click here).

CASA SELECT collaborates with a number of registered, very reputable law firms and with pleasure we can introduce you to local lawyers.

At this stage we recommend that you apply for your NIE number. An NIE number is a tax number, you need this if you want to purchase a property, apply for a mortgage, insurance, purchase a car, water, electricity and telephone contracts. The application must be done personally by the Polica Nacional in Torre del Mar. Within a few weeks after the application you will receive your NIE number.

It is also useful at this stage to open a Spanish bank account.

Of course we can help you to arrange your NIE number and open a bank account.

After you have found your property with CASA SELECT and we have an agreement on the purchase price a reservation document will be drawn up. Herewith the property will be taken off the market and the agreed price and conditions will be reflected in the reservation document.

Upon signing the reservation document you pay a reservation fee of €3.000-€6.000, depending on the purchase price. This amount is usually held by the selling broker or by your solicitor in an escrow client account. Immediately after, a lawyer starts research into the property (who are the owners, is the cadastral data in accordance with the property, are all licenses present, are there any debts on the property etc.). If everything is approved, the reservation fee will be paid to the owner or developer.

If you decide not to proceed with the purchase without a valid reason, you will lose the reservation fee. If your solicitor finds problems with the property and you withdraw from the purchase you will receive your reservation fee back.

In general, 2-3 weeks after reservation follows the Private Purchase Contract, stating what has been agreed and detailing all rights and obligations of both parties. Upon signing the Private Purchase Contract a deposit, normally 10% of the purchase price will be paid, minus the previously paid reservation fee.

Before the Private Purchase Contract is signed, your lawyer will check all documentation and ensure that everything is correctly registered and confirm that there are no outstanding costs to be paid (these are mostly property taxes, service, telephone, electricity, water and any other taxes).

Once the contract is signed, the sale in principle is irrevocable. If the seller decides not to proceed with the sale of the property, he is legally required to pay twice the paid deposit to the purchaser. If you withdraw from the purchase you will lose the 10% deposit.

The transfer of property takes place at the notary. For re-sale properties, the transfer usually takes place 2 to 3 months after reservation. For new build properties, the delivery will take longer, depending upon the developers building schedule.

At the notary, the outstanding balance will be paid to the seller (usually by cheque) and then the title deed (Escritura Publica de Compraventa *) will be signed by you, the seller and the notary. Immediately you will receive a Copia Simple "(short version of the escritura). Subsequently, the notary will register you as new owner at the land registry and after some weeks you will receive the official Escritura from your lawyer.

* ‘Escritura Publica de Compraventa’ is the Spanish name for 'title deed'. For convenience it is popularly called "Escritura”. This is the only document which makes clear who the owner is. There is always a new Escritura if there is a change of owners.

If you have a taken a mortgage for the purchase of your property there will also be an Escritura de Hipoteca (mortgage deed) which includes the description of the property, the new owner and the amount of the mortgage. In this case, in addition to the presence of your lawyer, a representative of the bank will be present at the signing of the title deed.