How Do You Buy Property In Spain Safely?
Buying property abroad is not an undertaking one should embark upon lightly! It is not wise to assume that the entire purchase process will follow the rules we’re used to ‘back home’ and generally speaking there are usually a whole new set of rules and regulations, traditions and traps to learn, understand and watch out for. Spain is absolutely no exception and has a tangled web of laws and legislation seemingly designed to trip up an unwary real estate buyer. This article examines three key areas that a potential property purchaser should be at least aware of before signing on the dotted line for that dream Spanish home. Firstly there’s a ‘tradition’ in Spain for purchasers to actively but illegally assist the vendor in reducing his overall capital gains (or profit) tax liability. Often the vendor will ask for a far reduced purchase price to be written into the purchase contract and for the buyer to actually make up the difference between the contract price and the actual price in cas
