15 Dec 2012 12:54 PM:
I speak as a very frustrated real estate business owner who has to deal with the Spanish bureaucracy and bullshit every day!
These government officials, politicians and civil servants (which make up 60% of the workforce) need to realise, people come to Spain for the sun and not to be ripped off!
Why don't they spend a lot less money and issue the first occupation licenses on the 30,000 properties around Marbella which do not have them, despite people living in the properties for the past 12 years and paying tax to the corrupt government each and every year!
The utilities such as water and electric are not supposed to be contracted unless a first occupation license is issued, however the government took the transfer tax and continues to take taxes, however a lot of these people cannot sell because lawyers instruct buyers not to, funny as these are the same lawyers who took their fees when acting for the original purchasers!
It would be SOOOOOOOOOOOO easy to resolve the property issues as there are still plenty of people wishing to purchase in Spain it's just that they do not trust the Spanish or the Spanish systems and government!
They expect people to pay a 10% transfer tax simply to buy a property from January 2013 and what do you get for that?.... f**k all!
It is very simple, issue the first occupation licenses for all the developments where people are living and paying their taxes and reduce the transfer tax on purchases, then watch the people come flocking back to buy, it's not rocket science!
As for the unfinished developments, I agree with "Moncapitan", auction them off to the highest bidder with a stipulation they have to be completed within a certain timescale (so don't sell them to a Spanish developer), then issue them with a first occupation license so they can be sold legally, that will create jobs and generate tax revenue at the same time!
Why on earth spend €500m of tax payers money, sorry EU bailout money, on something which could easily earn you more than €500m!
Is it any wonder the country is in the shit!
Thread:
Should the "bad bank" demolish or finish the properties?
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