To Rent or Buy? That is the Question…
When first considering buying a property in Spain, it seems to be common knowledge that possibly renting first would be the advisable thing to do. This would probably be the case if your financial affairs were limited and you only had basic information and experience of the Spanish property markets.
So what would be the questions to ask in regards to whether or not to purchase or rent property in Spain. Lets take a look…
- Where do you live now?
Are you living in the Spain or outside of it? Maybe it would be best to consider finding out a lot more about the area you are wanting to live in first before taking a risk with your money. This could mean renting accommodation firstly to make sure that the area and facilities are suitable for you and your requirements.
However if you live or have a lot of knowledge about Spain and the property market and how it works in Spain, then you can go ahead.
- What do you want the property for?
Will you be securing your Spanish home for yourself and family? Is the property going to be used as a holiday home, somewhere to vacation yourselves, or will you be renting out the property to others as a holiday rental?
These are all things to consider when purchasing your property in Spain. If it will be used just for your self alone, or as a possible holiday rental and you have the means and capital, then buying may be a good option for you. There are a lot more properties to buy rather than rent here at the moment anyway.
As long as you take into consideration that the Spanish way of doing things is very different and although foreign investment is encouraged, there will be a lot of transactions that you may have limited knowledge on.
However if you want the property initially as a holiday home then permanent one, or have a limited budget, then it would be advisable to rent first then make up your mind whilst in the process. All the time gaining beneficial knowledge from local people and professionals in property arena.
Plus with new tenancy laws being made available now, it is a little more stress free and secure as there is more legislation in place to protect both tenant and landlord.
- But isn’t renting property wasted money?
Not at all, not when you take into consideration how the rental market enables the tenant a little more freedom at the start of the race. It will allow you room to look around for what you really want, giving you a more space to manoeuvre. There will also be some offers of a rent to buy option on certain properties, so its a good idea to check this with an professional estate agent before hand, what exactly is in your contract?
Magna Estates have a rental portfolio carefully selected to suit different lifestyles and budgets in the areas of Marbella, Benhavis and Estepona.
- I want to buy, are there benefits?
At the moment, in the property financial upswing, the only answer to that is a resounding ‘Yes’. It has been a great year for the Spanish property market and things are set to improve at a definitive rate.
According to Eurobor, (the rate used for Spanish mortgage interest payments), there has been a significant decreased percentage of 0.298 in January 2015. This is the lowest rate on record to date and 47% lower than just under a year ago.
This has got to be the news everyone has been waiting for, for a long time. At last people can get back onto the property ladder with a little more hope and encouragement again.
Spain has introduced a buy a property and get a visa, with a ‘Golden Visa’ option for anyone investing €500.000 in a property. This gives an automatic eligibility for a residency visa
- What should I do initially?
Whatever your choices and reasons for purchasing or renting properties in Spain it is imperative that you consult with an experienced and well established professional. There is so much involved with the process of buying property especially that it would be very unwise to do the research and the leg work yourselves in order to save a money.
The ones who have tried this in the past have failed, sometimes miserably as they were lead down bad avenues and given detrimental advice. These oversights then led to them losing even more money than they were trying to save in the first place.
Others have been caught out by scams being led by unscrupulous developers and real estate agents selling them illegal properties, where planning permission was not legitimate to begin with. Please save yourselves from all of this and contact a well established real estate company, with credentials beforehand.
Consider everything first!
So as there is a lot to consider when firstly either renting or buying property in Spain, it is very important to ask all of these and other important questions initially. By a process of elimination you will come to a satisfactory conclusion that will then lead on to better things and onto the property ladder in the long term.
However do not forget the golden rule of consulting with a qualified real estate professional first. Whether renting or buying, do it right the first time around.
