To buy or to wait. - Page 2

Russ123 wrote on Mon Dec 7, 2020 10:22am:

Thanks everyone who responded,  your opinions are much valued.  I think at the end of the day if I see the property that ticks all the boxes I will probably go for it. I am retired a few years and not getting any younger so the wait and see approach is limited. What I do know is that I ...

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...would benefit from the sunnier weather in the winter months not to mind  golfing with the various societies.

As a general rule, I wonder  should I make opening offers around 10% below the asking price?

Also, would an estate agent advise which sellers are really keen to sell?

I suppose I should visit a number of estate agents to see who I get the best response from.  

Would any forum members recommend a particular  estate agency  over another?

Naturally I would like to do as well as I can  in the whole process. 

Thanks again everyone for responding.

Kimmy11 wrote on Sun Dec 6, 2020 10:29am:

Hi Russ,

As you probably know, unlike the UK, there isn't the extent of data available in Spain to give an accurate guide of the "going rate" for a particular type of property in a given area.  So, this is just my personal opinion, but I think you've always been able to get a bargain in Spain, b...

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...ecause the housing market is saturated from the boom in the first decade of this century and now they're building modern, white boxes all over the place, while so many of those older properties sit empty.  While Brexit has forced illegal UK citizens to regularise their status in Spain, many others have decided to return to the UK; fewer "snowbirds" seem to be relinquishing their holiday homes, but there are some considering whether the reduced capacity to visit, post-Brexit under Schengen rules, makes the ongoing costs worth retaining them, and these issues have added to the housing stock available this year.  That said, the impact of the pandemic on travel this year and probably for at least another 6 months, could suggest there is potential for further price reductions, once owners are able to get to their holiday homes and carry out the administration of selling much more easily.  I think it's also clear that there are still many UK citizens who don't understand the implications of Brexit on owning property in Spain, either as a holiday home owner or a permanent resident, and this could add to the amount of property becoming available next year, when the reality of Brexit becomes apparent in practice.

It's also worth bearing in mind what appears to be a closely guarded formula that the Spanish tax office uses to decide whether a purchaser has paid too little for a property, which has the effect of reducing their revenue by way of the property purchase tax we have to pay.  This formula is used to calculate what is known as 'Complementary Tax' and can come back to bite a purchaser up to 4 years after they've bought.  The worst cases I've heard of are where buyers have renovated a property and then the tax office applies Complementary Tax to the value of the renovated property, rather than its value at purchase.  To get around this, and there have been a couple of examples reported on the forum this year, lawyers are obtaining 'official' property valuations upfront and then suggesting to their clients that they pay the additional tax when they complete on the property.  That's where you definitely need a crystal ball because you don't know whether, or not, Complementary Tax is going to be applied, so do you pay it upfront, or just keep your fingers crossed for 4 years?

I was involved in a thread earlier this year, where I did a calculation on another member's working example - I'll see if I can find it and add it to this thread.

Kind regards,

Kim

S88wrt wrote on Mon Dec 7, 2020 10:29am:

Hello russ 

Sun world, in la zenia alex is very helpful I have found.  I think the key here is if you want to be full time resident you need to have that sorted ore end of December as if no deal brexit it would appear you may be restricted to a maximum of 180 days per annum. As a UK tax payer, you will ...

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...probably know about health care if you are in receipt of pension you’ll probably get Spanish “NHS” free of charge.  Good luck with it !

Regards

Scott.

Russ123 wrote on Mon Dec 7, 2020 11:39am:

Thanks Scott for your information.  In my case I'm an Irish citizen and guess I will keep my time spent in Spain to just under 180 days. It seems to me unlikely that the authorities would check such details but maybe I'm  mistaken but I plan to play by the rules anyway.

Thanks again.

Kimmy11 wrote on Sun Dec 6, 2020 10:29am:

Hi Russ,

As you probably know, unlike the UK, there isn't the extent of data available in Spain to give an accurate guide of the "going rate" for a particular type of property in a given area.  So, this is just my personal opinion, but I think you've always been able to get a bargain in Spain, b...

Read more...

...ecause the housing market is saturated from the boom in the first decade of this century and now they're building modern, white boxes all over the place, while so many of those older properties sit empty.  While Brexit has forced illegal UK citizens to regularise their status in Spain, many others have decided to return to the UK; fewer "snowbirds" seem to be relinquishing their holiday homes, but there are some considering whether the reduced capacity to visit, post-Brexit under Schengen rules, makes the ongoing costs worth retaining them, and these issues have added to the housing stock available this year.  That said, the impact of the pandemic on travel this year and probably for at least another 6 months, could suggest there is potential for further price reductions, once owners are able to get to their holiday homes and carry out the administration of selling much more easily.  I think it's also clear that there are still many UK citizens who don't understand the implications of Brexit on owning property in Spain, either as a holiday home owner or a permanent resident, and this could add to the amount of property becoming available next year, when the reality of Brexit becomes apparent in practice.

It's also worth bearing in mind what appears to be a closely guarded formula that the Spanish tax office uses to decide whether a purchaser has paid too little for a property, which has the effect of reducing their revenue by way of the property purchase tax we have to pay.  This formula is used to calculate what is known as 'Complementary Tax' and can come back to bite a purchaser up to 4 years after they've bought.  The worst cases I've heard of are where buyers have renovated a property and then the tax office applies Complementary Tax to the value of the renovated property, rather than its value at purchase.  To get around this, and there have been a couple of examples reported on the forum this year, lawyers are obtaining 'official' property valuations upfront and then suggesting to their clients that they pay the additional tax when they complete on the property.  That's where you definitely need a crystal ball because you don't know whether, or not, Complementary Tax is going to be applied, so do you pay it upfront, or just keep your fingers crossed for 4 years?

I was involved in a thread earlier this year, where I did a calculation on another member's working example - I'll see if I can find it and add it to this thread.

Kind regards,

Kim

Kimmy11 wrote on Mon Dec 7, 2020 3:04pm:

Hi John,

A "snowbird" is a northerner who migrates south for the winter months - I think it may be North American, because friends of mine in the UK, who go to Palm Springs every winter, call themselves Transatlantic Snowbirds.

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In this instance, I'm talking about holiday home owners from the UK who have been able to come to Spain for most of the British winter, but will be adversely affected post-Brexit by the Schengen '90 days in a rolling 180' rule.

Kind regards, 

Kim