Property Buying Help/Info/Opinions

Do you have a query about moving to Andalucia and buying property in Andalucia. Find out by posting questions and reading about other peoples experiences.
RBSoul
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Property Buying Help/Info/Opinions

Postby RBSoul » Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:10 am

Hello everyone. I've pretty much know I will be settling down in Spain to live and hence would like to buy a property. I'm an American and my wife is Spanish. Now me just gettting out the military and could say still newlyweds, now just 2 yrs, we don't have anything saved towards puchasing a house.

I currently got a job that has us living comfortably though I'm sacarficing having to work in the middle-east while the wife is in Spain renting the place we're in. Now we're paying way to much and that money could be better spent on the monthly mortgage. Plus if I end up going to some other european country to live I can rent it out or sell it off.

As we are looking to buy (if possible) in the Costa de la Luz area.... i.e. Jerez de la Frontera, Puerto de Santa Maria, Chipiona, Sanlucar de Burmedea, Puerto Real, Sanfernando is it possible to obtain an mortgage? Well the full amount or close to it?

My wife's parents are willing to cosign to help us out with the bank. Though my concern as I earn dollars is being able to pay my monthly payments. I make over 100k for the time being (as long I wish to stay working here) and I think a budget limit of 200-220k euros for a house is plausible. Are we able obtain our dream?

If I were want to buy a house in the states it would be no problem for me for a full mortgage and what not. Though would be a better family enviroment once we have kids.

Do most ex-pats move to Spain already have most of their in hand? I figure as my wife is Spanish I should be able to pull a deal off as a Spanish person. Please any help or advice on this is greatly appreciated.

Thank you... RBSoul

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Gin Monster
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Postby Gin Monster » Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:49 pm

I believe the standard norm for Spanish mortgages is a maximum of 70%...some banks may offer a bit more....so you will need some cash to put down...and don't forget to account for a further 10% of the house purchase price for taxes and charges etc :cry:

Beachcomber
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Postby Beachcomber » Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:56 pm

The terms of Spanish mortgages are very Draconian. You should fully explore all other possibilities before going for that option.

RBSoul
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Postby RBSoul » Wed Sep 12, 2007 3:51 pm

Thank you for the responses. This really brings me down. I'm pretty much wasting money renting 1200@month. Rather be invested in my own house and yet I don't have anything that is needed for obtaining one it seems.

I guess I'll have my wife and her parents explore avenues of what could be possible. Or just we do some aggressive saving and I stick to doing what I do longer then expected.

robperrie
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Postby robperrie » Fri Sep 14, 2007 3:45 pm

jus a question,,if a house is sold to me at 200k euros, but on the escuritaria its down as 125k and i pay the rest for other stuff,,whats does that mean to me,,,

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Retro P
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Postby Retro P » Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:03 pm

robperrie wrote:jus a question,,if a house is sold to me at 200k euros, but on the escuritaria its down as 125k and i pay the rest for other stuff,,whats does that mean to me,,,
First off it's highly illegal, although it has been a custom in the past, basically it enables the vendor to underpay his taxes, in the long term though it's you who will suffer as you will have to pay an undue (and unfair) amount of cgt when you come to sell, effectively you will be paying the vendors taxes, tell em to stuff it, the Spanish athorities are finally waking up to this kind of scam and are ruthlessly hunting down the offenders, you have been warned, so beware!
Ah! the full english!!

Alan-LaCala
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Postby Alan-LaCala » Sun Sep 16, 2007 9:13 am

the Spanish athorities are finally waking up to this kind of scam and are ruthlessly hunting down the offenders,
The Spanish authorities seem incapable of ruthlessly hunting down anything.

Alan
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peteroldracer
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Postby peteroldracer » Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:26 am

Whilst it is impossible not to agree with AlanLaCala's remark, it is not only the Spanish government tax people that are genuinely getting tougher, but the world-wide goverments and banks. It was always a risk, and recently the risks got much greater.
Morally, this sort of evasion is indefensible (for those that have morals!).
It is like if people did not buy stolen goods, there would be much less theft!
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

frank
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Postby frank » Sun Sep 16, 2007 1:16 pm

Alan-LaCala wrote: The Spanish authorities seem incapable of ruthlessly hunting down anything.

Alan
Agree. I have said before they seem great at passing laws, useless at implementing them. :?
Regards, Frank

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alaninspain
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Postby alaninspain » Sun Sep 16, 2007 4:36 pm

Not mentioned so far is the sales which mention the asking price which is lower than the bank valuation. You may be able to get a 70% mortgage on the bank valuation, which then gives you the choice of quick settlement or keep the mortage payments up and spend the rest on rioja. :) :wink:

robperrie
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Postby robperrie » Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:58 pm

ok,,what happens if i know someoen who got stung by this and its jus gone thru after me warning them,,but was too late,,can they goto the town hall to report

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peteroldracer
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Postby peteroldracer » Sun Sep 16, 2007 6:02 pm

It is not really anything to do with the Town Hall - it is a taxation issue. I should strongly advise talking to a good abogado (lawyer) before reporting anything.... it could all get a bit messy, and may be best to let sleeping dogs lie if matters have been finalised!!
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

mary b
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Postby mary b » Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:51 pm

It was perfectly normal years ago to under declare ,still happens ,but less so ,and yes they do hunt you down ,believe me .Though a small under declaration is still normal ,about 20 percent as it benefits both parties.If you are earning dollars and paying in Euros that could be be disaster at the moment
i never repeat gossip,so listen very carefully

El Cid
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Postby El Cid » Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:50 pm

Hacienda have just introduced a new computer system that is connected to all the notaries and registrars which looks at declared values and compares them to a table of valuations.

This will flag any major under declarations but I doubt that it will show up too many as a lot of property is wildly overpriced and the under declaration is probably near the true value!

The valuations used for things like IHT are all based on the Catastral value multiplied by a local factor. You can even look this up online.

I imagine they are using a similar system.

Sid

mary b
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Postby mary b » Wed Oct 10, 2007 10:12 am

you can get catastral on line with plans and description . Just go to oficina Catastral malaga .It will tell you the status of the land,rustic ,urban or regadio .Makes things simple to see just what you are buying .You have to have the poligano and parcelanumbers .A house that has been there for 4 years or more can be legalized,many owners do not want to do this as they are afraid of a fine for illegal building ,but there are architects who can do this for you

Mary
i never repeat gossip,so listen very carefully


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