Buying Property and land in Spain - Practical Tips — Las Mecias

From the moment Laura and I decided to go ahead with the plan to buy land in Spain to experience a more sustainable lifestyle immersed in nature, away from all the madness, we began excitedly scrolling endlessly through a plethora of property websites.

What started as a lighthearted, enthusiastic dipping-one’s-toe-in-the-property-pool, quickly felt like a tidal wave of unknown facts, figures, and things we had not yet thought out. We backtracked a few steps, making some choices on budget, size of the terrain, and requirements for what we wanted on said property, i.e. a house, a barn, ruin to rebuild, etc.

Quickly realizing this was an overwhelming task, especially from abroad, we decided to bookmark a few properties that interested us and wait until we were physically in the area to arrange a viewing. Upon arriving, it became obvious that both of us were nervous about making that first step of making contact with the estate agent (more often than not it is, unfortunately, an agency and not a private seller - more on that later) for a couple of reasons.

1. Making that first step felt like it would then be ‘really happening’ - arguably completely absurd if you consider the fact that by that point we’d sold most of our belongings and quit our jobs, in the middle of a pandemic - and…

2. The idea of not being taken seriously (This happened. Quite a bit).

Low and behold, we made the first phone call, to enquire about a stunning piece of land with a ruin on it; turns out it was protected land, meaning there was no way you could rebuild the ruin or change anything. A little heartbroken, we crossed it off the list.

visit lots of properties to clarify your key criteria

In the coming months we would visit at least a dozen properties, from huge desolate villas with swimming pools to abandoned cottages where it seemed as though someone had left their half eaten breakfast on the countertop that same morning.

These first visits taught us a lot about what we did and didn’t want, and quickly found that it’s exhausting driving from viewing to viewing and decided to filter out even more properties we came across online through a few key criteria, and enquire with the estate agents before even making another appointment to be told “this is perfect for your business idea, just wonderful”, when it’s clear that the roof is in dire need of replacing and the bathroom was recently full of termites and mould.

about estate agents in spain

A quick bit of insight into estate agents in Spain. You would think they would be gagging for some business or at least make it seem like they are interested in having you as a potential client. Especially in the middle of a pandemic, after a year of not having been able to work.

We thought wrong. Between emails not being responded to for weeks, and no follow ups after viewings, it became crystal clear that they were, unfortunately, not reliable.

At one viewing, we arrived at the property a little before the estate agent, who didn’t have a key before a friend of the owners’ came and handed it to her right there and then. She had not been to the house, and was therefore not able to tell us very much about it, never mind answer (m)any questions. In fact I think we even helped her figure out how to unlock the front door! We asked to see some standard paperwork and she said she’d get back to us. This took a few phone calls spanning a couple of weeks, and by then we’d found most of the information we needed online, and decided it wasn’t the place for us. She sent us a couple more properties that were either completely out of our price range or simply too small, and then disappeared off the face of the earth.

things to bear in mind when researching, viewing and choosing property in spain

Decidedly on our own again, we continued our search. If you happen to be on the same trajectory as us and are worried about where to start, here are three things to keep in mind/channel when going through the motions of buying a property in Spain

Does it have its own water source? If so, how much do you have access to?
Is there a structure on the terrain? If so, is it registered as a dwelling or an agricultural building? Are you allowed to rebuild it or change anything about it?
Don’t let anyone rush you into doing anything if you feel you’re not ready. Things will fall into place if they are supposed to. Take your time.

These are some key points we found to be absolutely essential to narrowing down our search, and helped us weed through the places that wouldn’t have been suited to us. The last point is something we didn’t practice so much but is definitely a huge lesson. Whether it’s an agent or a private seller, naturally they will want to focus on selling as quickly as possible; be that to simply be done with it, have something to hide, or get their commission as soon as possible. Whichever one it is, please don’t let anyone rush you.

get your property paperwork organised in advanced

We went from seeing to signing in a month, and whilst everything turned out fine, in hindsight it would have been much less stressful to be signing everything with all the paperwork properly read through, seen and approved beforehand. Instead, the previous owners suddenly walked in with a bunch of papers pertaining to the water rights on the day of signing (we’d been asking for them for weeks) which caused a monumental argument between the notary and our lawyer!

All in all, we’re beyond grateful for waking up with a panoramic view of mountains and a candy floss sky every day, and sincerely hope you find your happy place one day.

If you have any questions at all, be it about our story, coming to stay or about the process of buying land/property, feel free to drop us an email at hola@granjalasmecias.com