Banks to create social housing

http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/costaluz/2697/legal-tip-203-oportunity-to-sell-your-house-in-spain-iii-size-requirements.aspx

What is your opinion of this? 

Hi Maria.

What would the effect of this be upon a gated community full of 2B2B apartments, e.g. Polaris World golf sites in Murcia?

Is there a restriction preventing what we Bitish call "council housing" on this type of development ?

Regards,

This looks really interesting Maria but I bet there are a load of conditions attached to it, such as the market value of the property.  I assume expensive luxury apartments that fall into the given size won't classify for this?

However, it does seem like a very good initiative and if it helps some people sell, and others buy, then it's got to be good.

Justin

Prices are limited by the Government. Initially any house can be a social house if it meets the size requirement and the owner wants to sell it at a lower price. Of course prices are limited by the government.

It can only be good for the person wanting to sell and the person getting cheap housing. What about the poor neighbour who has spent a fortune buying an expensive villa on an up-market complex now having to live next door to (possibly) an unruly socially housed family of seven, who care not about the place because they don't actually own it ?

I think you may have understood what protected housing is in Spain.

Here is my interpretation...

Average salaries in Spain tend to be quite low.  In Andalucia 1000 Euros per month is quite a common wage.  Over the past 10 years as the housing boom got underway, many locals were totally priced out of the market.  Their wages just couldn't match those of foreigners and so they weren't able to afford any of the new properties being built.

What we've seen is that in many areas developers were given permission to build new properties but also they would have to build a development of "protected housing".  These are sold at cost and you have to apply to buy these properties.  There are also special mortgage incentives which all together mean that the local residents can afford to buy a new property.

Therefore, they are not tenants, they are actually buying the properties, but they should be cheaper than non-protected properties in the area.

It's a bit like in Gibraltar where locals were able to buy 50% of a property and the government bought the other half.  It's a way to get locals who have bene priced out of the market on to the property ladder.

Justin

Very correct Justin.

Maria

Ps.- I am posting on basic of Social Housing tomorrow

Thanks for clearing that up J.

I was confusing it with the UK's version i.e. low cost housing which the government here are attempting to integrate into any new development above a certain number of units as opposed to the Spanish version of a totally separate development. Is this the case or have I misunderstood you?

The classical way was for developer o build a whole development of protected housing.

Given the oversuppluy we are experiencing and as way to help Banks, developers and owners to sell and individual owners to buy, the Housing Ministry is allowing regular units ( in stock of Banks/ developers and owned by individuals too) of any development to be trasnformed into protected units.

Am I answering your question now?

Thank you Maria.

Back to my original comment then :

It can only be good for the person wanting to sell and the person getting cheap housing. What about the poor neighbour who has saved every cent  to buy an expensive villa on an up-market complex and his new drinking/smoking/save nothing neighbour moves in for half the price. Community spirit will not flourish.

As has been said about a certain american female singer, ' you can take the girl out of the caravan but you can't take the caravan out of the girl'.

This of course is a generalization and I am not really a snob but someone has to post these observations.

I agree with the previous post, not sure I would be happy to have bought a house for say 200,000e, only to find it could be bought for 100,000e 2 years later!

Can anybody explain how all this works in simple terms ie: Does the government buy your house off you at market price and then sell/rent 50/50 to the local market of would be buyers??? Or is rent/mortgage guaranteed by the governement?? All articles I have so far read do leave that little something missing in the small print.

Quote: "I agree with the previous post, not sure I would be happy to have bought a house for say 200,000e, only to find it could be bought for 100,000e 2 years later!"

KP, I think most of us who bought over the past 3 or 4 years have already lost that amount in the value of our properties anyway!

VPO, as these protected properties are known, are sold just as a normal sale.  As they are normally sold at cost it means that the buyer should get a cheaper property and hopefully get a mortgage to go with it. 

Everything else is as normal, the only other difference is that there are clauses in terms of selling the property on or renting it out.

I don't think there is really anything to worry about.  Just because someone has got a reduced property doesn't mean that they aren't going to look after it and care for it.   Most properties sold these days are reduced anyway!

Justin

Yes... the bubble bursted... a while ago.