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repossessed spanish
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view bank foreclosures in spain
view bank foreclosures in spain
When I first started this section on buying repossessed property in Spain, the recession had not yet started.
In those pre-recession days, the majority of bank foreclosures went up for Public Auction in the local Court of Justice and, each month, I would list many properties throughout Spain that were due to come up for Public Auction.
With hard times hitting Spain - as well as the rest of Europe - the foreclosure business in this country has changed somewhat.
The Spanish banks now have so many foreclosed properties on their files that most of them have set up agencies and websites dealing specifically with the sales of these repossessed properties.
This is very good news for anyone wishing to buy a foreclosure, for bidding at Public Auction was a rather complicated business.
On top of that, you needed to do a lot of legwork, checking to see what debts were outstanding on the property, and whether the property was still occupied.
There was also a strong possibility that, once successful with your bid, you would then have to remove inhabitants from the property.
And, you may well have had to compete with experienced Spanish property auction buyers when actually bidding for your property.
So, now that the selling of these foreclosures is more in the hands of the Spanish banks, you'll find it a lot easier and safer to bag a property bargain, for the banks will generally guarantee the property debt-free.
And, you'll find that our repossession section has changed ... It will no longer list foreclosures due to come up for bidding at Public Auction.
Instead, we'll be listing the urls of official bank websites which deal with sellling the repossessions of that particular bank.
However, for those of you who still wish to know how to bid for repossessed property at Public Auction in Spain, we'll be giving a 6-part guide on how to buy at auction ... you'll discover the links to this towards the end of the page.
But, for now, let's look at what the Spanish banks have to offer ...
list of official bank websites selling foreclosed spanish properties
Here you have a list of the main banks of Spain with repossessed properties on their books, plus the url of the site handling those properties.
You'll just need to find the area of Spain that interests you, plus the type of property you're after - apartment, house, commercial premises etc.
- Altamira Santander Real Estate - Banco Santander
- Solvia - Banco Sabadell/Solbank
- Servihabitat - La Caixa
- Oportunidades CAM - CAM
- Aliseda - Banco Popular
- Reser Subastas - Caja Madrid
- Casaktua - Banesto
- Procam - Caixa Catalunya
- Quermes - Cajasur
- Portal Inmobiliario - Caja Canarias
- Revalua - Caixa Penedès
repossessed spanish properties - mortgages and purchase advice
100% Mortgages
Because of the state of the economy, the Spanish banks are normally loath to grant mortgages at the present time.
However, as you'll have seen if you've visited the above websites, they will often lend up to 100% mortgages on repossessed Spanish properties as they're keen to get rid of them.
I know this to be true in practise as well as in theory because my 24-year-old daughter and her partner are in the process of buying a foreclosed property through Solbank, and they have been granted 100% mortgage.
To get 100% mortgage, you'll probably need to be resident in Spain, and to have proof of income, such as work contracts.
If your circumstances are not terribly straightforward, I suggest you ask the advice of our independent Spanish mortgage broker.
Two Types Of Property
Whether you seek an apartment, house, or commercial premises, repossessed Spanish properties basically fall into two categories: second-hand properties; or new builds where the mortgage has not yet been transferred to another person.
Until the end of 2011, if you buy a new build, you'll be able to benefit from reduced taxes: instead of the normal new build tax of 8% of the value of the property, you'll only have to pay 4%. This results in a saving of several thousand euros.
Deposit
When you find a property you wish to buy, the bank will ask you for a deposit.
My daughter found that most banks were asking for a deposit of between 1,000 and 3,000 euros, which seemed very reasonable.
What's more, these deposits were returnable. In other words, if you gave a deposit and then decided you no longer wished to buy the property, the deposit would be returned to you.
This is contrary to what tends to be normal procedure ... when placing a deposit on a non-foreclosure and then won't procede with the purchase, you risk losing your deposit.
Make An Offer
If you see a second-hand property which interests you, don't be afraid of making an offer, even if the price the bank is asking seems very reasonable.
Again, I use the example of my daughter ... The bank had the house she's buying priced at 136,000 euros. This seemed a real bargain compared to prices some years' ago. However, she and her partner offered 115,000 euros - and this was accepted.
If the property is a new build where there are several others for sale which are similar - for example, part of an urbanisation - it may not be so easy to have an offer accepted, as they'll tend to keep prices uniform.
Buying Costs
Although residents can get up to 100% mortgages, you'll normally need to find the buying costs in cash.
If you're taking out a mortgage, these costs will be around 12-13% of the price/value of the property.
If you're not taking out a mortgage, the purchase costs could be a little under 10%.
The actual buying costs (not including the bank charges for taking out a mortgage) on a second-hand property will be a 7% transfer tax, plus notary, registry and gestor costs.
The costs for buying a new-build are similar, but the tax is normally 8%. However, as we mentioned above, until the end of 2011, these costs have been lowered to 4%, presumably to try and unload some of the many new-build properties in Spain which were constructed during boom times.
repossessed spanish properties - a word for the losers
This section on foreclosed Spanish properties is designed to help you buy bargain property in Spain, and we wish you every success.
Unfortunately, for you to be able to bag this property bargain, it means someone else has suffered.
At present, on Spanish television, I see many documentaries about families being evicted from their homes because of non-payment of mortgages.
Because of the way the Law stands in Spain at the present time, these families will be in debt for a long time, and will find it difficult to get back on their feet again.
So, I would just like to finish this page by saying that I very much hope the Law will change soon, to bring it more in line with other European countries such as the UK and Germany.
Meanwhile, happy bargain hunting.
repossessed spanish properties - how to bid at public auction in spain
As you'll have read above, because of recent changes in Spain, we now consider it advisable to buy foreclosures through the bank.
However, for those of you interested in how to bid for and buy Spanish foreclosures at Public Auction, you'll discover below our 6-part course, plus free downloadable e-book.
Enjoy!
- Buying Properties At Public Auction, Part I
- Buying Properties At Public Auction, Part II
- Buying Properties At Public Auction, Part III
- Buying Properties At Public Auction, Part IV
- Buying Properties At Public Auction, Part V
- Buying Properties At Public Auction, Part VI
- Free E-book On How To Buy Repossessed Property In Spain
