June 2, 2019
Buying property in Spain as a foreigner is a very interesting experience to say the least. The functions of the professionals are very strange and definitely not what we are used to as Americans. It is a frustrating, but ultimately rewarding transaction. I will satisfy your curiosity and say yep! “we done did it”. Find out why we ultimately decided to plant some roots down in our beloved Valencia. To think it all started with a door slam.
[the_ad id=”13767″]
Amazon affiliate links contained in this post. We make a small commission if you purchase using the link.
Deciding on buying Spanish property:
As our newsletter subscribers know, we absolutely loved our rental flat in Valencia. We had adequate space, a patio for the dogs, and it had been recently remodeled. We had signed a one year lease with our intent being to stay there until we moved away from Spain. We were also happy renting, not that there was really anything to fix (we did need to have the flat completely rewired) thanks to a leak from the upstairs neighbor.
Federico is very sensitive to noise and uses our Bose noise cancellation headphones (our Christmas gift to ourselves) a lot. Each floor has two apartments, the other one being a gestoria office (think accountants). One of the men that works in there had a nasty habit of slamming the door whenever he entered/left the office, which was very frequently. Bam! Bam! every single time, 20 times a day sometimes since he had several cigarette breaks, siesta, etc.etc..
[the_ad id=”13783″]
Complaining to him only made it worse of course. The building administrator had a chat with him, as did the landlord several times. He would tow the line for about a week, then go right back to slamming. I think he has a very frustrating job/life, a very unhappy man.
We therefore decided we would move because he was never going to change. We started thinking about rental flats in Valencia. One day, l said perhaps we should consider buying instead of renting since we both loved the city. Boom… that started it.
Is it a good time to buy property in Spain?
For us it was a no-brainer. We have been living in Valencia over two years. Previously, we had been living in Seville, another place we really liked, and Malaga before that. Like Federico says, “in some place you gotta live”. We both know Valencia was a great fit for us and we could picture ourselves here for the long haul.
Thinking back to how much money over the years we have spent as renters, we still wouldn’t have done it differently. Buying an apartment in Spain before we were ready would have been a horrible mistake. We have met a lot of people who are saddled with property that have remained unsold for years.
[the_ad id=”13784″]
The Spanish property market was in sharp decline for years after the world market crash. It is ever so slowly recovering and right now, it is still a buyers market in Spain as a whole, and even more so in the Valencia and Andalusia regions.
Once we made up our minds to buy, we had to figure out a way to pay for the apartment of course. Even with not having jobs in Spain, we might have qualified for financing through a Spanish bank with a 30% downpayment from what we learned.
We opted not to have a mortgage on the property because we now have an aversion to debt after being debt free for so long. Our solution was to sell our rental property in Houston and use the proceeds to buy the apartment. That way we have no more mortgage as the last remaining property which is a condo is owned outright.
Selling U.S. property from abroad:
Knowing fully well we are not planning on returning to live in the U.S., certainly not to Houston anyway, we had no reservation about selling that house. It was a relatively painless procedure because l followed my own past post on selling property while abroad to the letter.
The hardest part was finding someone to coordinate the remodeling work after the renters vacated the house. Thanks to a friend of a friend of a friend of my brother (you gotta love the Naija hookups 🙂 ) who oversaw the work done, the house was on the market less than a month later.
We got a full price offer the second day the house was on the market, and four more by the end of the week. We chose the best one (no contingencies ). A 30 day escrow followed and we closed by visiting a notary in Valencia and signing there. (we could have gone to the U.S. embassy in Valencia, but unfortunately they they had no open slots for weeks!).
We used TransferWise to move the proceeds over. It’s an online banking company where you can open accounts in different currencies. We had our money wired by the U.S escrow company into our USD TransferWise account. Once that was done, we simply converted that into our Euro account with them. We saved thousands this way instead of doing it though the traditional banks with their absolutely crappy conversion rates. Here are some hopefully helpful tips on buying Spanish property.
Things to know before buying property in Spain (Valencia):
- You might need a lawyer at a cost of approximately 1% of the property cost. Their function includes researching the property and basically act like the escrow company in the U.S.
- Notario, Gestoria and other fees will run you just under 1%
- In Valencia, it is customary for the buyer to pay the real estate commission. Most realtors won’t even show you the place unless you signing a form agreeing to it. That was hard to swallow. The fee is usually €3,000 flat fee if the house is under €100,000 and then a % if above (usually 4%).
- 10% of the property cost for transfer tax.
- All in all, you need approximately 16% of the cost of the property to cover everything, so definitely factor that in. If you’re contemplating moving to Spain, you can find more detailed information on the process using our Amazon affiliate link to purchase our latest ebook available on Amazon.
- Your closing is done at a notary office and it’s just one signature and you get like a three page document if even. We had about 13 signatures and over 50 pages of document with the U.S. house sale!
We found our Valencia property on idealista, my favorite portal for finding property in all of Spain. Our hopes of remaining in our then current neighborhood was dashed pretty quickly. It was out of our price range, and we were determined not to be squeezed into a small space or have to walk five flights up.
My love for real estate came into play. I enjoy looking up and researching flats for sale in Valencia. As soon as we set eyes on the flat, we both knew that was it. It was the 22nd place we looked at. It is a local barrio and is about a 25 minute walk to the center (as opposed to our previous 10-15 minute walk) so it is still central. We are literally a five minute walk from the City of Arts and Sciences, so lots of wide open spaces and greenery.
Tragedy strikes before closing:
After committing to buying our flat and commencing escrow, the owner died six days before closing. She was 86 years old though, so she hopefully had a great life. Our first reaction was to cuss, scream and feel sorry for ourselves before uttering our condolences.
We had to extend our lease a further two months, thank God our landlord was pretty cool and was willing to accommodate us for as long as it took. The two surviving children aged 58 and 60 inherited the property, then in turn sold it to us.
They had no interest in keeping any of the furniture except for a couple of recliners and some pictures of their parents. This is saving us several thousands of euros. The flat is completely furnished and they have really sturdy furniture. Dated yes, but we don’t care. We are bringing the 80’s back with the black lacquer furniture :-).
What we love about our Valencia flat:
- It is on the third floor on a wide avenue so there is no immediate blocking of our view by another building. I love looking down and seeing trees.
- It is big enough for us. 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths and 1200 square feet.
- You can walk everywhere pretty much. Our favorite grocery store is two minute walk from us.
- Lots of cafes and bars around and very cheap too.
- Lots of older people, so the building is quiet.
- Did l mention free furniture? right down to the vacuum cleaner, everyday cutlery and fancy ones (we donated the everyday stuff and kept the fancy ones).
- The breeze! I had originally thought our first expense would be installing air conditioners but no need. Leaving the windows open just a tiny bit is enough.
- The price. It was an incredible find, not even including the furnishings. The same sized flat in the same neighborhood that were/are on sale since we started looking are minimum €10,000 pricier. Combination of good timing, the children wanting to dispose of the property quickly and our willingness to put up a deposit quickly cinched it.
- A small balcony. Yeah!!!!
Despite the fact that the price was fair, we offered €7,500 less than asking price. I basically just subtracted the real estate fees from the asking because it irked me to pay it, and for good measure another couple of thousand for wiggle room in case they came back with a counter offer. It took a full week before hearing back after we had paid the “reserva” fee. I’m sure they were still showing the flat as it continued being listed.
Most people buying are looking for empty flats, but having furnished many, many places before, we know it’s insanely expensive. Also, the fact that it’s a buyers market, people hesitate and wonder if there’s something better out there, and then it’s too late. When it’s priced right, it will sell quickly.
What we don’t like about our flat:
- The building is ugly as sin! :-). Federico does not agree with me. It looks like any one of the thousands of apartment buildings out there built in the seventies. Like housing projects. Bah! I pictured myself in a fancy stately building.
- No patio for the dogs. It does have a rear balcony though, and we are having the cement broken and piped so they can do their business in between walks. The front balcony is exclusively for us.
- No nearby metro stop, only buses, but plenty of them. The new metro stop will be up and running next year though so l am happy. Construction on line 10 has started.
- We might be freezing come winter time thanks to the breeze.. there are portable heaters though, so we hope that will be enough.
So, now that we have the property, we are doing some remodeling. The plan is to make this a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath flat. The 3rd bedroom is basically useless and would have become just a storage room anyway l’m sure. A bigger living room is it then :-). We are also rewiring the whole flat. In the near future, I will do a new cost of living post to replace the old one from two years ago.
We are also painting the whole place one color. The salmon and green color scheme must go. We have found a contractor and on the next post, I will share the during construction phase with you. Wish us luck. It should be quite an adventure.
Have you bought and remodeled property? Was it a smooth experience or do you have horror stories to share?
[the_ad id=”13768″]
Exciting news! Huge leap to buy a place and “settle down” 🙂 I liked your strategy of renting long term in each place you visited and hopping around and trying out different places. I liked southern Spain during my brief visit 2 years ago so I certainly get the appeal. Congrats!
Hey Justin! I remember you liking these here parts when you visited. Thanks for the good wishes. One of my older sisters upon hearing the news was like.. “oh thank God! Now you can stop living like gypsies” haha despite the fact that we live a year plus in each place.
Kemkem, congratulations – that is great news! I have been reading your blog for the past year because I wanted to move to Valencia. I finally got everything in order and will be there in August/September (whenever I get my visa). Can I email you to get suggestions on finding places to rent and working with agents (since you have a lot of insight based on your experiences). Thank you.
Hi Kris! Hah… you have been charmed by Valencia l see. Good to know. I wish you good luck with the plans/visa. Remember that August is pretty much an impossible time to find an apartment as the workers are on holiday. I will try and help with questions, so go ahead and email. You’ll like the city:-), and thanks for the best wishes.
I am sooo happy to read this. Great news indeed and it sounds like you found the perfect place for you.
Even though central always sounds good, as long as you have everything that you need around – shops, restaurants and green spaces… there’s no real need to be just there in the city center and pay more just for basically having similar things around you.
The apartment looks really good and I can’t wait to see how it looks when the remodelling is over. Having it fully furnished is always an advantage as even the small things add up. And having a balcony is definitely a big Pro! Congrats again!
Thanks C! You are probably not too surprised since you know how much we like Valencia. I think we found a perfect fit, but one can never tell till a bit of time passes by. If anything, hopefully they will be small problems. We have pretty much the same kind of stores and cafes around us like the place we had when you guys visited, only not as concentrated. I really enjoy the green spaces and walking/biking will be good. I still miss the old gym though and my buddies there.
It should be interesting seeing how the workmen are compared to the States. The furnishings have really saved us major bucks, even thrift stores are expensive :-). I am loving the balcony and first order is to get a screen door for it. Bella went out there the first time and promptly peed :-). We don’t want enemies so soon with falling pee :-). Thanks for the wishes.
Good for you guys! I’m so happy that you have decided to ‘plant’ yourselves in Spain. Best of luck with the renovation work. xx
Thanks Sue. I am looking forward to the renovation being over already..haha! Let’s hope nothing horrible happens to delay that!
Never considered buying property in any foreign country but one. And, it’s still a possiblity.
Oh l hope it happens for you then :-). That would be awesome!
Wow, such great news. A high school classmate of mine did the same and, like you, loves Valencia. I should visit the city to see what is so lovable about the city. But enjoy the remodelling…it us as exciting a phase as the buying!
Oh wow! small world. It’s so easy to love Valencia for real. We have met so many people in the two years that are just thrilled to be here. I hope it doesn’t get too crowded..haha! We are looking forward to the remodel, it should be different maybe :-).
Nice to see you finally took possession. And some photos of your new place. Look forward to visiting you all again in the future. 😁😁
Finally happened and we couldn’t be happier! You and your mojo are welcome any old time. Sure the doggies would love it too :-).
You have been thru quite the experience in buying property in Valencia, Spain! I’m not quite sure I would buy again versus rent, but I understand your rationale. Best of luck to you!
Yeah, we had a bit go bad luck on this go-round. Funny enough, it’s the second time the seller died while in escrow. In Texas, it took over six months to get my deposit back so l’m glad this worked out better. Thanks 🙂
Gosh, what a crash course you took in buying property. Hope that it’s smooth sailing from hereon in!
Thanks Irene. I hope the same. Usually buying in Spain is a few days to a couple of weeks thing, especially when there is no bank involved.
Wow, what an exciting — to say the least! — new chapter for you. And good info should we ever consider expating to Spain. I envy your resiliency and positive attitude, and wish you much happiness in your new Spanish digs!
Thank you so much Lori. It is quite a new chapter indeed. Something we hadn’t considered before moving to Valencia. I hope others can find the information useful as well, and good luck to you wherever you decide on :-).
Best of luck to you with remodeling and getting the place just how you want it. I was really interested in reading this because the hubby and I have often, although fleetingly, imagined living in Spain someday. Wonderful to get some real-world perspective on this. As you were renting for a couple of years before making a buy decision, that sounds very logical, especially since we love what we’ve seen of Spain, but have not spent much time there. With the real estate market there starting to improve, maybe we should start getting serious!!
Thanks Cathy. I think the most surprising thing that l am trying to steel myself for is the workmanship. It doesn’t seem to me that they care too much about looks, more the function which can definitely be a problem. I know it won’t go perfectly, I’ve done enough of them stateside to know that. Yeah, the real estate market is definitely creeping up, even just seeing the difference between two years and now. Hopefully, it will stay creeping :-).
As you know we bought property in Greece in 2014 but prior to that during our work lives we also took our first plunge at owning foreign property in Mexico (had planned to run a B and B there in retirement . . .that idea got tabled after using it as a vacation rental for a number of years, YAY!). Our purchase wasn’t a smooth one here as the British sellers had refused to get an attorney (saving money) and in the end it cost them dearly and we also took a hit as the first attempt at selling/buying fell through after our money had been wired to Greece. It was a Keystone Cops moment in life and I left Greece in the summer of 2014, with a mantra of, “I am so DONE with Greece! And don’t ever talk to me about real estate here again. . . .’ As they say, famous last words.
Oh wow! I had no idea about your Mexico house buying experience. I’m curious as to why you abandoned the idea. Did it have to do with it being a whole lot more work and felt like a job all over again?. I can imagine it being so and l don’t think l would have liked that either. Hah! I’m so glad it all worked out in the end since you love your new home so much. It’s true, you should never say never, especially when it comes to home ownership. You gotta do it when it feels right. It’s great to have a solid base and the prospect of not having to deal with landlords, even nice ones fills me with joy because it means not having to pack up :-).
Kemkem, congratulations! I really think this is a great move for you guys. Valencia is an amazing city, a place that you can never get bored of, in my opinion. Renovation work can be hard, but if it all goes according to plan you do get a great sense of satisfaction. I will be looking forward to hear about how you are progressing along the renovation path.
Thanks Gilda! I agree with you that Valencia is an awesome city and we have yet to be bored. It’s amazing the amount o see stuff that one can take advantage of if they are willing. I am getting more and more at home daily. The remodel is going surprisingly okay..some little bumps, but nothing too horrendous thank God. I will update on our dust that is kicking up my allergies all blast :-).
Hi KemKem,
This was interesting for me to read for a few reasons; 1. I’ve always loved watching House Hunters International (HGTV) to see how it’s done 2. I bought property in France myself and it hasn’t been easy. 3. I enjoyed reading your travails and how you overcame the problems. Gives me an idea to someday create a blog post on my property in France — when its done being renovated! Cheers!
Hi Valerie. I love House Hunters International as well :-). I am always on the lookout for new episodes on Youtube as we don’t get it here. I’m sorry to hear about your woes on your France property. I think it would be a great idea to blog about the property because it does help others, which is what got me into blogging in the first place. I couldn’t find much information about Malta. I would definitely be interested in reading it. Thanks for the comment.
Woo hoo! That’s great! Good you loved Valencia so much you wanted to make it permanent. And within walking distance to a grocery – perfect! What about laundry? The last house before divorce was live in ready, but dated, needed upgrades. AKA the money pit. Besides renovations to make it nicer for us, we had to replace the roof, the deck, the hot water tank, and the furnace. Not so much horror stories as painful to the wallet.
I think Federico’s favorite part is the closeness to our preferred grocery store, you can’t beat the location. The flat has a washer on the rear balcony where we are putting the gutter. It’s long enough. We almost chucked the washer because it got stuck at the rinse cycle and no instruction manual, even online. We found a telephone number for the company and told them the error code, and lo and behold, it was the filter. He rinsed out the gunk, and all is well! No money pit so far thank God. We are just about done too.
I forgot to ask, are you planning to buy a car now? Does this place have a parking lot? I’m guessing secure underground parking like most of the condos in North America have wouldn’t be a thing there!
We’ve had a car for the past couple of years. We shipped his old car from Rome. We rarely use it though, except to move it from spot to spot. We end up walking to most places. A lot of buildings do have underground parking (not ours though) but a lot of people don’t have cars so they always sell or rent them. I hate him or anyone driving me, I am the worst backseat driver ever! Ever!!! 🙂
Fantastic and congratulations! I don’t blame you for buying in Valencia, my first thought when I was there was “I could live here.” You just know home when you come across it and it all works out…. Even when the owner dies😉 Cheers
Hey Paula! I find it awesome that you thought the same thing when you visited. Amazing that as travellers, that is one thought we always seem to have when we hit a new place, if it’s liveable or not. We were so close and it sucked when we heard the news, it derailed our plans but worked out in the end so we can’t complain :-).
Wow! This is big news and I’m sending you my hugest congratulations! I agree that it’s important to wait and make sure you actually love a city in a foreign country before you make a major commitment like buying. Like you, I’ve seen starry-eyes expats saddled with properties they no longer want. There are so many countries and then cities to choose from and finding a good fit like you’ve done takes patience and a willingness to try different places beforehand. So excited for you guys! Anita
Thanks for the best wishes Anita. Much appreciated. Yes, we felt it was important to see what it’s like in so many different parts of the world before making an informed decision. I remember a particular lady who insisted on a fink and boy..when they needed an ambulance..it was chaos and she was stuck with the property. I couldn’t imagine all the brave should buying before even moving to a place. So many things could go wrong. We can’t wait for you to see it!.