Costa del Sol Property Blog

The following article has been kindly supplied by Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt who I hope will become a regular legal contributor to my blog. Here we will be looking at the legal consequences that European Regulation 650/2012 is going to have on foreign resident’s Spanish Wills.

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The average price of a built property (whether new or used) fell 2.7% in January compared with the same month of 2014, according to the latest report by Spanish appraisal company TINSA More..

In the third quarter Spanish property purchases by foreigners stood at 13.10% of the total, a new record, according to the ‘colegio de registradores’, which has you can imaging is being seen as a very positive sign that we all hope will continue. The British appear to be the largest group of foreign buyers, making up 18% of the total, followed by French, Russians and Germans.
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“MONEY is pouring in from everywhere,” said Emilio Botín, chairman of Santander, Spain’s largest bank, late in 2013. Others in southern Europe might say the same as they stumble over representatives of foreign-investment firms legging it round office blocks and down-at-heel plants looking for the deal of the century. More..

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H.I.G. Capital Announces the Acquisition of the First Property Portfolio Sale by Sareb
• The transaction values the portfolio at €100m.
• The portfolio comprises close to one thousand homes, primarily located in the community of Valencia, Andalusia, Murcia, the Canary Islands and Madrid.
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The Popular Party (PP) government is planning to open a little loophole in Spain’s strict coastline protection laws. A planned amendment to the 1988 Coast Law reduces — in practice — the protected shoreline area from the current 100 meters to just 20 meters.

But homes that are now located within this 80-meter strip will be subject to very strict controls if property owners want to make structural changes, assuming they get the approval from and comply with the rules of their municipal governments. More..

Carlton Group Inc.’s clients have earmarked 7.5 billion euros ($10 billion) to buy real estate in Spain and Portugal over the next 12 to 18 months as risks diminish and prices adjust to what buyers expect to pay.

“A combination of reforms in Spain, stabilization of sovereign debt yields and reduction of risk perception for Europe as a whole has made investment in Iberia far more attractive,” Javier Beltran, head of Spain and Portugal for the U.S.-based real estate investment bank, said in an interview. More..

The European Commission has approved the Spanish government’s plans to restructure four troubled banks.

Bankia, Banco de Valencia, NCG and Catalunya Banc were nationalised after experiencing heavy losses on loans to homebuyers and property developers. More..

With the over supply of properties throughout Spain, and general doldrums of the EU wide economy, Spain is looking at further ways to help increase real estate transactions. As I am sure many people who will read this article are aware, for months now there have been a range of articles, talking about Russians/Chinese/etc… buying up properties in locations throughout Spain. More..

The Association of Spanish Banks (AEB) has this week issued a temporary freeze on all evictions of “vulnerable homeowners,” following protests after a woman killed herself on Friday moments before she was going to be evicted. It was the second suicide of a struggling mortgage holder in the last three weeks. More..

Thousands of property buyers are becoming anxiously nervous as the end of the year approaches. The reason is simple. If you are buying a new property, if you go to completion before the 31st of December you will only be paying 4% IVA (VAT) on the purchase, but if the purchase takes place in 2013 then the IVA rises to 10%. The difference of 1 day could lead to a 6% increase in the cost of purchase. More..

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As I mentioned not too long ago in article, the Spanish Government would be setting up a ‘bad bank’ with the aim of buying up ‘toxic’ properties and land assets in the country in an attempt to clean up Spanish banks finances. More..

The increase in VAT and the expected increase in electricity bill will not be the only charges they will face some homes in the coming months. As stated in the draft State Budget presented by the government this weekend, the Ministry of Finance plans to review the assessed value of nearly three million homes in 2013, which in many cases will imply an additional tax burden to many families. Notifications of the Ministry are used by municipalities to prepare the local taxes. More..