If you are a foreigner and you are thinking of buying a property in Costa del Sol is good for you to know these 3 things.

1. The only essential requirement you need to buy a property in Andalusia or in Spain: Identification number of foreigners.

The first thing you have to do if you want to acquire a property in the beautiful Andalusia is to get your identification number of foreigners. You will need this document for so many things in Spain: pay taxes, open a bank account, get a mobile subscription, buy a car, rent a long term property, hire an inssurance and of course buy a home.

Where do you get your own NIE? You can get it at the local police stations. 

It is not a very short process because you must complete some different documents. It is advisable, if you don´t know Spanish, to seek  professional help or a native speaker to help you in the process.

2. Which are the taxes that you have to pay to acquire a house in Costa del Sol?

The Value Added Tax (VAT), in case of new homes or first transmission: 10% of the price of the home

The Tax on Property Transfers (ITP), in the case of residencies of second hand or second transmission. The tax rate is 8% in Andalusia. It must be paid if VAT is not applied in the transmission.

Other taxes:

1. Public deed in the notary.
2. Registration of the deed in the Land Registry.
3. In case it is necessary to request a mortgage, it is necessary to include the appraisal and the notary, the taxes of the mortgage and the inscription of the deed to the Land Registry.

All these payments will mean an increase in the cost of ownership by around 10%.

3. How much money you should have before you buy a property in Costa del Sol?

Let´s put a practical example where it will be quite simple to understand.

For example, you want to buy a 200.000€ property. How much money do you need to have in your bank account to buy this property?

 If you get your mortgage in Spain you will get 70% of the appraisal value of the home, so in this case if the property is priced by the bank in the same sale price you want to buy it, you will need the rest 30%: 60.000€.

To this amount you must add the expenses described above. How we have said before they are around the 10% of the sale price: 20.000€.

The example is simple. To buy a property of 200,000€ you will need to have previously an amount of 80.000€.

If the information has been useful for you, we would appreciate it if you shared the information so that other people can also enjoy it.

These are just some guidance tips that may be useful if you are thinking about cadquiring a property in Spain. If you have more specific doubts or more technical aspects we will be at your full disposal.

 We are DeseaHomes, a real estate located in Nerja with properties in all Costa del Sol. If you need help we can drive you by all the purchase process.