AdiosAmigo

Hello everyone,

I am in the early stages of researching the possibility of living my dream which is to own a small holiday apartment on a Spanish golf resort.

I have just joined this forum in the hope people will be able to assist me with advice and you will no doubt see more threads/questions asked by myself over the forthcoming weeks.

I am currently researching with a view to visiting as many areas as I can and viewing these apartments but do not seem to be getting reliable advice on what extra costs/expenses such a purchase would incur?

Please can anyone advise me what costs purchasing abroad incur ( hidden or not ) and what tax implications etc there are owning a holiday home in Spain but having a main residence in the UK ??

Look forward to hearing your advice.

Thank you

chrisjolly

Hi and good luck finding a golf apartment. Mijas golf is a good area with lovely apartments.
Buying costs amount to about 10% of the purchase price so budget for about that amount. Once bought you need to pay non resident tax once a year depending on the Council tax valuation IBI. The notary is a state lawyer and will go through all the property details and ownership to be passed to you so only use your own lawyer if you really feel you need to. You will need a paper trail to prove the money you use to buy the property is clean. Bank statements are usually enough. Its very straight forward. See the place of your dreams, make an offer to the agent, pay a deposit and decide on a completion date and Roberto is your uncle!

AdiosAmigo

WOW, Thanks for the fast reply. So apart from the annual fees to the complex the apartment is on there should only be a council tax fee ? I have heard rumours of having tax implications on earnings made in UK due to ownership of spanish property ?? Sounds absurd but who knows ??

Also what about rumours of horror stories regards actual ownership meaning 100% ownerhip and people having their homes taken from them and losing everything or buying and finding out the apartment already has debt against it ?? All very strange but who knows ??

It feels like a minefield of information I need and lots of worries but this is something I really want to do.

Thank you

Lynn R

As you say, there will be annual/monthly fees for services and maintenance - do make sure you find out in advance of making an offer how much these would be. The non-resident tax is separate from the IBI (Council Tax). Non resident tax is charged on the basis of imputed rental income (even if you never actually rent the property out) and is payable to the Agencia Tributaria (national Spanish tax authority). IBI is payable to the local authority in respect of local services.

Of course you will have utility bills to pay as well. Second home owners often find these expensive as they pay the same standing charges as full time residents do, and standing charges are higher here than in the UK. Electricity charges are based on how much "potencia" you are contracted for - that is, the maximum amount of power that can be used at any one time, charged by the kw. If the potencia is too low your electricity supply will trip when too many appliances are in use at once, if it is too high your standing charges will be unnecessarily high. For a 2-bed 2-bath all electric apartment my potencia is 5.75kw and standing charges are around €24 per month. There is also an electricity tax imposed by Spanish Government during the financial crisis and then you have IVA (VAT) at 21% charged on everything, the IVA rate is much higher than VAT on energy bills in the UK: However, usually IBI bills are much lower than Council Tax in the UK, so it is a case of swings and roundabouts.

With regard to your point about tax implications on UK income, that should not be a problem if you are not going to be tax resident in Spain, ie if you spend fewer than 183 days in a tax year in Spain. If you do become tax resident, then you are liable to pay Spanish income tax on all your worldwide earnings.

Do make sure you use a reputable lawyer or gestor (not one connected to the vendors or developers). It is their responsibility to check that the property is free from debts before the purchase is completed.

If you may wish to sell the apartment in the future, you need to be aware that selling costs are much higher than they are in the UK. Firstly estate agent's commission is much higher - 5% is quite common. Then as a second home there would be capital gains tax if the property is sold at a profit. There is also an additional local tax on the "official" increase in value of the land the property is built on, which is called plus valia. If you sell as a non resident, the amount of plus valia due would be retained from the sale proceeds by the buyer's lawyer, as would 3% of the total sale price which is retained in respect of a potential capital gains tax liability. If no gain was actually made, or the liability would be less than 3% of the sale price, you as the vendor have to reclaim that amount from the Agencia Tributaria and they are notoriously slow to pay.

Moses2013

Most of the points have been answered by Lynn R At the end of the day, it's no different than buying in any other country and you just use your common sense. Of course being on a golf course will be very pricey and just depends how much money you want to spend (community fees and so on). I can only speak for the area we have a holiday home but when I look at the prices here, you'd be better off buying a property 5 mins away from the golf course and would save hundreds of thousands.
https://www.pgacatalunya.com/real-es...ale/pre-owned/

AdiosAmigo

Thank you Lynn and thank you Moses, you have both been very helpful.

Can I ask you two further questions before I go away and further research what you have kindly told me......

In what area of Spain have you both bought and why ?? Also if I was to say I am not a lover of the 'High Rise' areas of Spain and like the more traditional areas of Spain, what area would you suggest I look ?? Costa Blanca ? Costa Colida ?

Thank you again.

Lynn R

I bought and renovated an old townhouse in the Axarquia region, around 30km East of Málaga. Sold that in 2017 as we thought accessibility would become a problem in later life (house was in a pedestrian only area up a steep hill) and bought a town centre ático apartment in the same town, just a 5 minute level walk to shops, buses, etc. and with the health centre just around the corner. Such practicalities are important if you plan to live here full time especially after retirement. I did not want to live in a holiday resort where (a) prices for all kinds of things, not just property, tend to be noticeably higher, and (b) they are crowded in summer and can be ghost towns in the winter so chose a large working town which has been very little influenced by tourism and has over 90% Spanish population. We are only 5km inland so have easy access to a coastal resort when we want it, and excellent public transport links both to the coast and to Málaga for links to the airport and trains for trips wider afield. I do not drive so good and frequent public transport was a very important factor for me, which ruled out living in the countryside or a small village.

It's a very urban environment (but quiet) so would not suit everybody, but we all need to choose on the basis of what is important to us as individuals, and what we would look for in a holiday property would not necessarily be the same as what we would want in a permanent home.

AdiosAmigo

It sounds idyllic Lynn and I am very jealous but as you mentioned a holiday home is different to a permanent home. Do you have knowledge of which of the 'Costa's' I should be looking at for a less 'high rise' and more traditional look ?

Thank you again.

Lynn R

I'm not familiar with other coastal areas, sorry. Personally I prefer the area East of Málaga as it is less developed than the Western Costa del Sol. Having said that, outside of the large resorts with their high rise buildings there are some nice areas to the West - Estepona is lovely as is Casares just inland from there, although possibly a bit far from the airport for easy access.

AdiosAmigo

No problem Lynn, thank you again for your communication. Take care and enjoy the sun.

Moses2013

Of course price played a big part, so we opted for a plot of land as an investment rather than an apartment. Since we live in Ireland, I'm also used to having space/less noise and don't think I could live in an apartment. Especially if we want to spend a few months of the year in Spain in the future, I'd rather have something I could see myself living in long term. I suppose we picked the Costa Brava as it ticks most boxes for us. You can easily drive there, property was good value for money and it's basically like Mallorca without being stuck on an island. 1 hour drive to Barcelona, 3 hours drive to Andorra, less than 2 hours drive to France.

AdiosAmigo

Thanks Moses, I can see a number of cheap trips to Spain with use of a hire car for us this year.

Loafing Along

Look along the Costa del Sol . There are 40 golf courses within a 30 minute drive of Marbella and some excellent property options in areas such as San Pedro, close to Guadalmina course which is excellent. Further down to Estepona also worth checking, again a great selection of courses .If not 100% residential look at Cabopino, good course several new properties close by as well as good value second-hand.
Advantage of Malaga airport which has great connections to most places.

AdiosAmigo

I have visited Costa Del Sol to play golf on a number of occasions and love it. The problem I have is I need to find somewhere which has good tourism as it is a holiday home ie quiet bars and restaurants but without the 'high rise' benidorm feel and look. I will research Cabopino although may be expensive as very close to Marbs ??

Thanks

Moses2013

The best way is definitely exploring by car. Most Brits will mainly be focused on the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol but you can certainly find decent golf courses all over Spain. We are around 15 mins drive from PGA Catalunya and it's definitely a decent golf course, but of course if mainly focused on the highest amount of sunshine and hottest temps possible during winter, it wouldn't be the right area. As it's the Med, you get good amounts of sun, but would need to wear a lighter jacket in January/February and there is some rain now and then.