•spain 

I am a resident of China and I heard there was a new policy in Spain that if a non EU person buys a house in spain he would get a long term resident permit. I would like to know if this is true.

Non EU resident persons can apply for a Spanish residency permit, including long term one, when they have a house in Spain, but apart from that they also need several other requisites, such as proof of financial means (800 € or more per month per person), a Visa for residency application issued by the Spanish Consulate in your country, and some other medical and official certificates of good standing concerning health and good behaviour in your original country

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NEW 100% MORTGAGES TO BOOST SPANISH MARKET

(From OPP News)

Buyers in Spain could be able to secure 100% mortgages for the first time during the downturn thanks to a new developer-bank partnership.

Customers buying from UK-based developer Almanzora Group will be able to apply for 100% loan-to-value finance through the Bank of Andalusia on properties with discounts of up to 55% off peak price.

The developer has been selling around three properties per week since the start of the year and hopes the new mortgage offer will provide an extra boost to the market. The large discounts make the properties more affordable and so the bank can feel more confident about buyers’ ability to repay the loan, said Almanzora’s sales and marketing manager Simon Coaker.

“In some cases, the mortgage available is larger than the amount actually payable by the purchaser,” he said. “This is because, following last year’s price reductions, current prices of a number of properties are actually lower than the bank valuations.”

Bank incentives

Although the number of mortgages issued in Spain rose year-on-year for the first time in two years in November 2009, such high loan-to-value rates have become almost unheard of in Spain due to increased conservatism among lenders. However, banks are more likely to lend to customers buying repossessed properties or from developers backed by bank funding.

“There are some 85% loan-to-value loans available for bank-owned properties but generally there is still little movement in the market,” said Clare Nessling, operations director for international mortgage broker Conti.

Coaker told OPP that Almanzora was in partnership with the Bank of Andalusia to fund certain elements of its projects, but that the bank also wanted to take advantage of the sales opportunity.

“The banks have seen us doing well and are interested in dealing with our clients,” he said. “Some of our own mortgages are with the Bank of Andalusia but they have competed against other banks for our customers’ business.”

Addressing the long-term sustainability of such large price reductions, he said: “We wanted to create real interest in the property so have allied a mortgage product to selective discounts that will incentivise the market. But we think the 55% discounted stock will sell very quickly and we anticipate raising prices hopefully by mid-year.”

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One-stop shop for Value Added Tax (VAT) in Spain.

The Spanish Council of Ministers adopted a Royal Decree to complete the transposition of Community directives known as ‘VAT package’ referred to in the new system of ‘one-stop shop’ to enable the return of VAT quotas to European businessmen, announced the Executive in a note. The new system applies to employers established in the peninsula and the Balearic Islands when they supported VAT charges in other EU countries.

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I am a Russian long term resident in Spain; can my Russian wife get her residence permit automatically?

It is not that automatic. First of all you must apply for her legal reunion with you in Spain at the Spanish authorities of your place of residence, then after you get an official permission for her, your wife must request a Visa at the Spanish consulate or embassy of her place of residence in Russia, and finally your wife is given a term of two months since the date of her Visa to request her residence permit in Spain. You and your wife will need to prove you have sufficient economic resources to live in Spain during your initial residence term, including a home and medical insurance. Your wife must bring a official certificate from her Country’s authorities showing she has no criminal records.

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I am an American and have a job offer from a Spanish Co., what do I have to do to obtain a work permit in Spain? Is there any advantage by having studied the last 2 years in Spain? (2005-05-30)

You should contact one of the following entities (depending on the city you are in Spain):

  • Direccion provincial de Trabajo.
  • Seguridad Social y de Asuntos Sociales.
  • Oficina de Extranjeros.

They will inform you about what you need (documents) for your particular situation. Finally, you should know that the Legal System in Spain considers that having a paid job and at the same time being a student is an exceptional situation. This means that one has to prove that the job is not necessary for one’s living and that it does not take time away from attending the classes and studying.

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My brother married to a polish citizen is living in Spain for more than one and half year. When can he apply for nationality?

In order that any non Spanish national becomes a Spanish national they must reside in Spain for a period of ten years minimum (there are a few exceptions like oficial refugees or nationals of Spanish South America, Andorra, Philippines, Republic of Equatorial Guiena, Portugal, Sephardies…all of them needing a term of five year’s residence).
There are other exceptions (needing one year’s term) for other persons such as the ones who have born in Spain, people married to a Spanish national, etc, etc.
Therefore, in your case, and with the details you mentioned, you cannot at this time apply for the Spanish nationality.

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What is an Escritura? (2005-06-23 )

In Spain “Escritura” or “Escritura Pública” means Deed or legal written document signed, sealed, witnessed and recorded by a notary public. A Deed related to any form of real estate transaction is normally submitted to the Land Registry for its registration.

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What taxes must I pay in Spain as a non resident individual property owner? (2010-01-01)

Non-resident individuals owning real estate properties in Spain have the obligation to declare and pay the following taxes every year:

  1. Land Rate tax (or I.B.I. ) , yearly payable to the municipality. It is based on the valor catastral (officially rated value) of each property and can vary broadly from town to town.
  2. Property owners’ attributed income tax. Also a yearly tax. Non residents pay two percent of the “valor catastral”, a officially rated value, of their property attributed to them as a sort of made-up income. In case the property rated value has been recently raised property owners pay 1.1 percent.
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What does I.B.I. stand for in Spanish real estate assets? (2007-04-17)

IBI, or Impuesto de Bienes Inmuebles, means the municipal real estate tax. This tax is charged annually by the municipality. Every IBI receipt shows the real estate property’s cadastral reference number (important for several other tax declarations) as well as the official assessed value of such property.

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What taxes and expenses must I pay when I purchase a real estate property in Spain?

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.

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