In case you purchase from a non-resident, you are legally obliged to deposit a three per cent of the total declared price with tax authorities in the name of the vendor as a guarantee of his taxes. If this obligation is not accomplished, then the tax aAuthorities could eventually make you (i.e. the acquired real-estate property) responsible in case the seller does not pay his dues. (2007-07-06)
There are two taxes and two expenses that must be paid:
TAXES
- Transfer tax: In Spanish it is known as Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP), and is a 7% in Andalucía for properties having a value below € 400,000 (8% in case they are over that value) of the declared purchase’s price. Only in case you buy a new property from the developer you do not pay ITP but you pay IVA (Value Added Tax) which is a 7% of the declared purchase’s price and in addition to IVA you pay a Stamp duty Tax of 1% (applicable in Andalucía as well).
- Plusvalía Tax: it is a municipal tax also known in Spanish as Arbitrio Municipal sobre el Incremento del Valor de los Terrenos, but people prefer to call it Plusvalía for short. Its amount can vary and it is based on the increase in the value of the land where the property is located calculated from the date the last sale took place. Therefore it is a seller’s tax, and you must be aware of this since there is a widely spread customary formula by means of which the sellers make that the buyers agree to pay this tax, and once agreed, the buyers cannot claim any reimbursement. In order to know the exact amount that corresponds to any purchase’s plusvalía tax, you can simply ask it at the municipal tax office in your town.
EXPENSES
- Notary fees. These are fixed fees based on an official scale.
- Property Registry fees: also fixed fees based on an official scale.
Even though the written agreement they propose may go fine with you, it is rather probable that it will include a number of clauses more favourable to the vendor than to you and you should want to consult with any lawyer before you sign. Besides this, there is nothing obligatory about the method of private contract and deposit followed by completion and final payment. In case you want the property and have the price prepared, you can carry on straight to the notary public and obtain your title deed directly paying over the full price that very moment.
It is a digest of the property’s record into the Property Registry books, which will incorporate a mention to any mortgages or several other charges pending on the property as well as the true owner’s identity.
Declaring and registering a new building at the Property Registry in Spain is not a legally demandable action since for constructions as well as in general for several other real-estate transactions the rule is of voluntary registration. However, as for the case of registration of several other actions at the Property Registry, it is normally advisable, or even necessary, to do it when owners face a transmission, external financing or other transactions such as subdivision of the built area (2009-07-01)
Yes, you can. But only in case the hidden defects existed by the time the sale took place and they are substantial defects (not unimportant, or small ones). The term you have to claim your money back is 6 months after the sale’s completion date. (2009-07-02)