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Inspection Flight Details and Other Notes to Prospective Buyers |
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P4L International / & some key considerations
P4L International has established an excellent working relationship with a number of developers in Spain and has a large inventory of properties in specific areas. With the boom in the real estate market over the past two years or so, Spanish properties have been popular, with quick exchanges occurring. We provide you with a range of properties to view, for a given price and location, focusing on one area at a time according to our Inspection Visit Schedule.
It is important to note that the choice of who you use in Spain is of utmost importance. Professionals of the highest calibre work alongside you to ensure that the complicated and sometimes worrisome issue of the Spanish Transaction Process is looked after to your satisfaction. Remember, when flying to Spain be prepared to put down a deposit immediately through the Contrato de Compraventa to reserve the property of your choice.
Please be aware that in most of Spain there are many property choices and each has pluses and minuses. For the entrepreneurial person old houses are cheaper, they do require a lot of work and sometimes the all-in cost may be more. Also, it is important to note that towns with narrow streets have other problems such as noise from neighbours and no-silencer motorcycles.
Other people like the idea of buying a plot of land and building on it. While builders are only too happy to build you a house, they have no responsibility to inform you about building regulations. Stories of local councils tearing down homes without planning consent are not uncommon.
Finally, there are urbanizations or developments. These developments can be gated, offering you an added measure of security. If purchased new, ensure that they have the appropriate building guarantee [10 years offers by recognized Spanish Banks or Building Societies (Caixa's)]. Urbanizations can have communal facilities such as tennis courts or pools. Service charge contributions would be expected should this be the case. |
The best way to buy a home in Spain is during one of our subsidised* inspection trips. The inspection is a three night information and viewing trip when you will be able to see a number of properties in selected developments in a particular area. Your flight for up to two people is paid for - redeemable on a full visit of the properties available. Your accommodation for two people is paid for - redeemable on a full visit of the properties available.
Local Area Seminar
Each inspection trip can be preceded by a short informal session where details of all properties and developments will be presented, and a range of other practical issues covered, for example legal matters, a consideration of costs, letting potential etc. etc.
Have a look at our schedule for 2004 - 2005 (currently in preparation)
Itinerary
By the time you are ready to travel to Spain to view, P4L International will have put together a detailed itinerary of viewings of properties.
To register your interest in an inspection trip fill out our online form or, if you wish to discuss your requirements with us, phone 020 7791 9641 and ask for the Spanish representative.
Daily schedule
- First day
- Depart from home airport.
- Arrive Spain Airport
- Meet P4L International Local Agent
- Arrive at either Serviced Apartment, ApartHotel or Local Hotel
- Second day
- Breakfast
- Inspect Area of Purchase
- Lunch at Local Restaurant
- Afternoon: Further Inspection of Properties and Area
- Evening: Dinner
- Third day
- Breakfast
- Re-Inspection of properties
- Lunch at Local Restaurant
- Afternoon: Re-inspection, reservations, contracts
- Evening: Dinner
- Fourth day
- Breakfast
- Depart for Airport
Annual Running Costs - a brief example
Taxes in Spain
Your residence card bears a fiscal number (número de identificación de extranjero/NIE), which must be quoted when opening a Spanish bank account or paying Spanish taxes. All residents (and non-resident home-owners) must have an NIE, including Spaniards.
Note that most taxes in Spain are based on self-assessment, meaning that individual taxpayers are liable to report and calculate any tax due within the time limits established by law. Tax forms must be purchased by taxpayers and are obtainable from a tobacconist's (estanco), although some are only available from tax offices (agencia tributaria). Penalties and interest are levied for late or non-compliance.
The tax year in Spain is the same as the calendar year (1st January to 31st December).
General types of taxes:
- Income Tax (impuesto sobre la renta de las personas físicas/IRPF): is payable on world-wide income. Tax treaties are in place with most industrialized countries to prevent double-taxation. Spanish Income Tax rates are below the European average and has a large number of deductions, but rates for high-income individuals exceed 50%.
- Social Security (seguridad social ): isn't strictly a tax, but is payable by employees and the self-employed.
- Garbage Collection/Mains Drainage Tax (basura y alcantarillado): is an annual tax payable by property owners.
- Property or Real Estate Tax (impuesto sobre bienes inmeubles urbano, formerly called contribución urbana): is paid by property owners.
- Wealth Tax (impuesto sobre el patrimonio): is payable on capital assets, including property.
- Capital Gains Tax (impuesto sobre incremento de patrimonio de la venta de un bien inmueble): is payable on the profits made on the sale of property and other assets located in Spain.
- Inheritance and Gift Tax (impuesto sobre sucesiones y donaciones): is payable on worldwide assets.
- Offshore Company Tax (impuesto especial): is an annual tax on offshore companies that don't declare the individual owner of property in Spain or the source of investment.
- Motor Vehicle Tax (impuesto de circulación ): is paid annually by all vehicle owners on Spanish registration plates.
- Value Added Tax (impuesto sobre el valor): is payable on a wide range of goods and services at varying rates.
- Business Tax (impuesto sobre actividades económicas/IAE): is paid by all businesses including the self-employed once a year (formerly called licencia fiscal).
- Company or Corporation Tax (impuesto sobre sociedades): is paid at 35 per cent on profits by partnerships and registered companies such as a Sociedad Anónima (SA) or Sociedad Limitada (SL).
Opening a Bank Account
Considerations in choosing a bank
- Closeness to your work or home and opening hours
- Service-mindedness of the clerks and ability to speak English
- Conditions and charges depending what services you will use most
- Ability to send and receive money from overseas
It sometimes can be worthwhile to find out if the bank you are currently using also has branches in Spain. This may help with credit checking and transferring money. British banks, in particular, have large branch networks in the country.
Types of banks
- Retail banks (banco): The Spanish clearing banks with the largest branch networks are:
- Savings banks (cajas de ahorros): The two largest Spanish savings banks are:
In general, savings banks offer a more personal friendly service than clearing banks and are excellent for local business (many have limited regional branch networks). However, although they provide the same basic services as clearing banks, they aren't recommended for international business.
Opening a current account (cuenta de ahorro con talonario or cuenta corriente)
You will need to show your passport, your address in Spain, and your NIE (número de identificación de extranjero) from your residence card. Spanish banks levy some of the highest bank charges in Europe for normal day-to-day transactions such as writing cheques, standing orders, direct debits and credit card transactions. Always obtain a list of charges before opening an account and compare the charges levied by a number of banks. A number of entries (account transactions) a year are usually free (e.g. 30) after which there's a charge per entry (e.g. 30 ptas), although the manager can decide to waive certain charges.
It is good to ask some questions before you open an account:
- How soon will you get a bank card, a credit card, cheque book? Do you have to pay a fee when you use the debit card at an ATM of another bank?
- How long does it take to process a Spanish cheque, a foreign cheque? How much does it cost?
- How long does it take to wire money abroad and how much does it cost?
- When do you get your bank statements? Is there a charge for this?
- Do you need to order foreign currency long in advance?
- What are the costs of having a checking account, credit cards, etc. Do you have to pay for cash withdrawals or standing orders?
- When can you get an overdraft facility, how much will it be, and what are the costs? Note that it's illegal to overdraw a bank account in Spain without prior agreement and can lead to many problems.
- What happens in the case of death of a spouse when you have a joint account, or when you each have your own account?
- What about phone banking, Internet banking?
- What are the best types of savings accounts?
- Does the bank have lock (safe deposit) box facilities?
Bank Statements
All correspondence from Spanish banks is in Spanish and it's advisable to learn to interpret your statements and other correspondence you receive. Account statements (estados or comunicaciones de movimentos) are sent to customers monthly or quarterly, although you can request one at any time by asking for an extracto or an avance. The most common words used in statements are date (fecha), debit (debe), credit (haber), date of operation/transaction (fecha operación/valor), balance (saldo) and description (concepto).
Health Care System
Spain has a public health system, providing free or low cost health care for those contributing to Spanish social security, plus their families and retirees (including those from other EU countries). If you don't qualify for health care under the public health system, it's essential to have private health insurance (in fact, you won't usually get a residence card without it). This is often advisable in any case if you can afford it, in order to circumvent the shortage of public health services and waiting lists in some areas.
If you pay Spanish social security (Seguridad Social) contributions, you and your family are entitled to free or subsidized medical treatment on the same terms as Spaniards. Over 90 per cent of the population are covered by the Instituto Nacional de la Salud (INSALUD), Spain's public health scheme, including retired EU residents (with a residence card) in receipt of a state pension. If you're an EU national of retirement age, who isn't in receipt of a pension, you may be entitled to public health benefits if you can show that you cannot afford private health insurance.
Doctors
When you receive your social security card, you will usually be assigned a GP (médico de cabecera) in the area where you live. You may be able to switch to another doctor in the same area, depending on availability and a doctor's number of patients. No payment is made when visiting a public health service doctor and members are simply required to produce their social security card.
There are excellent doctors (médicos) throughout Spain, although finding a doctor who speaks good English can be a problem, particularly in rural areas. However, there's a number of English-speaking Spanish and foreign doctors (and other medical practitioners) practicing in Spain, particularly in the major cities and most resort areas, including American, British, German and Scandinavian doctors. Many embassies and consulates in Spain maintain a list of English-speaking doctors and specialists in their area (or doctors speaking their national language) and your employer, colleagues, friends or neighbors may be able to recommend someone. Note that if you wish to see a doctor who's contracted to Spain's public health service, you may have little or no choice of doctor.
Pharmacies
Medicines and other pharmaceutical preparations(medicinas/medicamentos) prescribed by a doctor are obtained from a pharmacy (farmacia) denoted by the sign of a green cross. Most pharmacies are open from 09:30 until 13:30 and from 16:30 until 20:00 from Monday to Saturday. Outside normal opening hours, a notice is posted giving the address of the nearest duty pharmacy (farmacia de guardia) open after 20:00 (a weekly roster may be displayed). There are 24-hour duty pharmacies in all towns (usually indicated by a red light). When visiting a duty pharmacy outside normal hours, you must usually ring a bell, speak to the pharmacist behind a bullet-proof glass door and be served through a small hatch.
If you have a prescription you must pay 40 per cent of the cost of medicines and drugs or nothing at all if you're a pensioner or handicapped. Many private health insurance schemes also reimburse members for drugs and medicines. Note that there's no refund for some prescribed medicines or for medicines purchased without a doctor's prescription.
Pharmacies have a monopoly on non-prescription drugs in Spain, which are expensive compared with many other countries. General medication (such as aspirin, cough medicine and eye drops) which can be purchased in supermarkets in other EU countries can cost much more in Spain, e.g. 20 paracetamol tablets cost around 250 ptas in Spain or around five times the cost in Britain. It's advisable to buy non-prescription drugs abroad and stock up before arriving in Spain.
Hospitals
All Spanish cities and large towns have at least one hospital (hospital) or clinic (clínica), many of which are excellent modern establishments with highly trained staff and state of the art, high-tech equipment. Hospitals are listed in Yellow Pages under hospitales and indicated by the international hospital sign of a white `H' on a blue background. A list of local hospitals and health centers treating social security patients is available from your local social security office.
There are many different categories of hospitals and clinics (often used to refer to all private hospitals) in Spain, including both public (hospitales de la seguridad social) and private hospitals (hospitales privados), plus day hospitals performing specialist tests and minor surgery. Spanish hospitals include general hospitals (hospitales generales), district hospitals (hospitales distritos), regional hospitals (hospitales regionales), provincial hospitals (hospitales provinciales), local hospitals (hospitales comarcales/locales), military hospitals (hospitales militares), nursing homes (clínicas de reposo), private clinics (clínicas privadas) and emergency clinics (clínicas de urgencias).
Except in the case of emergencies, you must present your social security card or, if you aren't covered by social security, you must provide evidence of your health insurance or the ability to pay. If your private insurance company doesn't have an arrangement with a Spanish hospital to pay bills direct, you will have to pay the bill yourself (credit cards are usually accepted) or seek assurance from your insurance company that they will pay the bill.
The people who get you what you want in Spain
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