How long for property purchase to go through

Sorry for starting a new thread, I cant find my previous one. How do I continue a thread I started?  We have now sold our house and waiting for a completion date. Someone has today told me it takes at least 6 months for a property sale to go through in Spain. An estate agent we had some viewings with in February told us it could be all sewn up in a months.

First one I bought took about 7 days, could have been 5, last sale again about a week, definitely no more. The first buy I bought on a Thursday, back in the UK Friday, and got a call from Solicitor that morning telling me all was okay and when could I come back.

Both buy and sale above were private, the last two I bought about a year ago took 14 days for the two and could have been less but was down to me making arrangements.

6 months (Plus) sounds like the UK way of doing things, have to admit the first time I was taken back at the Spanish way and how quick it was...For me anyway.

Yes Baz, the process can take as little as 'days' it all depends on if a mortgage is required, these days it could easily take two months or more to get the offer through.

No mortgage to sort out so hopefully it will be quick, thank you. I love this site theres always someone to answere my questions

Please make sure you have all the legal ownership paper's (ie). Escatura/ocipancy certificate/no debts owing/water/ electric is connected  and meters fitted prior to handing over any money when I bought it took 6 weeks to go through no mortgage involved good luck.

If you have everything mentioned by windtalker and a few other things too so the property is fully 100% ready for sale then I suspect it wont take very long at all.

That said we have had one property where it took the sellers over 3 months and they just couldn't legalise the property sufficiently and after all that time going through the process we pulled out.

We have now been waiting for another property to acquire the appropriate paperwork for 6 weeks and the latest update is they are still waiting on the town hall, architects, energy cert, etc... to get their but in to gear. There is still a month left before the pre contract runs out so heres hoping it'll be sorted in that time. There is a mortgage but that is done and dusted and hasn't held anything up.

"Someone has today told me it takes at least 6 months for a property sale to go through in Spain"

Ask yourself - how long did it take when you bought? 

As already stated, if everything is in order, it can all be done in a couple of days - basically, as soon as there is an available appointment at the notary. If it's taking any longer, there's something wrong. Have you received a deposit? If the agent has, you should ask him to pass it on to you. 

My life long dream is sooo close now and its starting to turn into a nightmare. Cant get free medical cover there, wont get it here either after working all our lives, then I read we will be taxed on the money we will have in the uk bank that we will have to use to live on until we officially retire in 5 years.  Tax on purchase different in different regions and estate agents trying to charge commission if we purchase through them. Canr bring car, have to pay import tax, cant come without one, buy lhd here, buy ;hd there, but what do we do with our 2 cars, Anyone wanna swap. So many hurdles, cant sleep at night.

Unfortunately the bit about healthcare is true as only those of pensionable age, those under 18, those registered disabled and those paying into the social security system in Spain get free medical cover. Why would free cover in UK be stopped? Unless you mean after you become resident in Spain.

Who told you that you will get taxed on the money you have in the UK bank? You only get taxed on any income you make from it, that is the interest. You don't get taxed on the actual money. So unless you are getting over 6 or 7 thousand euros in interest then you won't get taxed.

Yes, transfer tax does vary between regions. Spain is a mish mash of different autonomous (self governing) regions which used to be countries. A bit like different rules on things between England and Scotland but more so. It can range from 6% in Navarra to 10% in Valencia. Far too high, IMO, and it doesn't help the property market one little bit.

The Spanish estate agents charge the buyer whereas most English agents charge the seller. Shop around.

If you bring a car with you when you first come, you do not have to pay import tax as it part of your personal possessions provided you register it within a certain time (I think it's 30 days). However, you will have to pay for the headlights to be changed, the fog light to be changed (if you have only one), for the inspection and a transfer tax. All in all it would cost about 800 euro but you could do it cheaper by buying headlights from a second hand web site or a scrap yard. There are also dealers around who will take a RHD car in part exchange to sell to someone going back to UK but don't expect the inflated Spanish prices for it.  Avoid buying a LHD in UK unless you are absolutely sure all the paperwork is up to date and correct as any debt on the car, including road tax, stays with the car.

It's really not all that bad, you know. Thousands still do it every year and, contrary to perceived ideas, pensioners are in the minority. In 2012 it was reckoned there were 808,000 Brits living in Spain and only 104,000 of them were pensioners. In 2014 this number had risen to around a million so that shows how many people are actually making the move (of course, it depends on what paper you read for those figures). BBC reckons almost 60,000 Brits a year come here but pensioners only number around 4000 of them.

Look forward to it if you can afford it. Work is very hard to come by as unemployment, though falling, is still around the 23% to 24% mark.

bobaol, thank you so very much for your reply, wanted to do this for 30 years and they all seem to be changing rules and putting obsticles in our way now its finally happening.

Do you become a resident automatically when you buy a property or is there a waiting period?

When you buy a property you will need to have an NIE number for the purchase, this shouldn't be confused with residency although it is often obtained at the same time.

If you intend on staying in Spain for 3 months or longer then you will have to apply for residency yourself before that 3 months is up and you will be asked to show proof of sufficient funds to live on in the bank and proof of health insurance before residency will be granted. Yopu will need to go to either the Oficina de Extranjeros or local police station depending on the area to do this.

This is also different from being considered a tax resident.
 

You will need to go to either the Oficina de Extranjeros or local police station depending on the area to do this.

If you are an EU citizen,  it is done at the Extranjería of the National Police for the area where you are living/staying  at the time of the application, even if that is a hostal for just one night.

In Spain there is Policia Local.  Do not be confused. They are not as in UK we would see as the Real Police. They are employed by each town hall to enforce local laws, licencing etc.,   and whilst they have power to arrest  if they do so they must take the prisoner to National Police or Guardia Civil,  whichever is the real police for that area.  They do nopt have anything to do with the residence status of citizens.

"We have now sold our house and waiting for a completion date. Someone has today told me it takes at least 6 months for a property sale to go through in Spain. "

Clearly, I completely misunderstood this when I answered - to me, you were asking how long the sale of your house in Spain wold take to go through. A little more clarity would help get the answers you require.

 "...life long dream...starting to turn into a nightmare...cant sleep at night"

Perhaps you should ask yourself, "is it worth it?"

I guess if you've already sold your UK property it may be too late, but the smart choice may have been to keep it, and rent here for a while ("here" being Spain, as indicated by my profile), bring your UK car, use an EHIC etc. etc...