Buying Property in Spain

You have made the decision to move to Spain and are now looking for a property to buy? Where do you start?

Firstly, I would suggest you go on to the internet and look at the various agents that are offering properties for sale in Spain. Many of these companies are run by people who have already emigrated to Spain and will know the many problems and pitfalls that arise when buying a property in Spain.

The next step is decide where you want to live, is it in a Town (urbanization), the Country (campo) even the mountains, the lakes or the Coast. If you want everything close at hand to you, then your best bet would be look at properties in a Town or on the Coast especially if you require medical facilities close at hand. You then need to decide whether you want to buy an apartment, townhouse, villa, finca (country house with land) or a property that needs renovation.

You have now made a decision on where you want to live and what sort of property you want to buy. It is now time to start contacting the agents, both those on the internet and those who are located in the town close to where you wish to live. They will not only provide you with the details of properties they feel would be of interest to you, but they should also be able to provide you with details regarding solicitors, banks (if you may need a mortgage to purchase the property), schools, medical facilities in that area. If possible get the bank to confirm with you what sort of percentage of monies they would lend on the purchase of a property, most banks in Spain only provide 75% mortgages.

You have now found the property of your dreams, one of the first things that you should ask of your agent is does the owner of the property have the right to sell the property and if so can they produce the papers confirming this. If no such document is available, then ask if they will be drawn up before the sale. If not, then do not proceed with the purchase.

Also ask your agent if they can confirm that the property being sold has been provided with all the correct planning permissions by the Local Town Hall. If you find that the property has not been provided with the correct planning permissions by the Town Hall, this may mean that the property has been built illegally. At present the Government in Spain is now starting to enforce the laws regarding illegal builds and this has sometimes resulted in properties being demolished and large fines incurred by the developers.

However, the problem above is only a minor one, and as long as you find yourself a reputable agent to help you in your task of finding the property of your dreams then these above problems should be of no consequence to you.

I hope that the information provide aboves helps you in make your decision to purchase a property in Spain a pleasant one.

Allison Thompson, living in Spain and partner of a small and friendly real estate company. http://www.inlandpropertyservices.com

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.