Buying A Property In Mallorca Has Risks

A while ago, I had a conversation with a foreign client who was thinking about his retirement and wanted to retire to live in Mallorca. He had the dream of buying a small plot of land with a country house that he had seen near the mountain. His question, as is the normal question I hear from prospective foreign buyers, “What do you think? Do you think I can buy it?” To which I replied, “Yes, it seems like a great idea, but do you know what you are buying? And above all, what do you want to do with the house?”

Seeing his expression, I continued, “Buying and selling a home is essentially simple. It is like buying anything. But when buying a rustic home, we have to take into account four aspects:

First Aspect #

Ask yourself if what you want to buy is for a primary or secondary residence (which is usually the most typical case) or if you want to buy it and have a tourist rental property to provide you additional income. Many of the rustic homes are not zoned or licensed for vacation rentals. That permission varies by jurisdiction or area of the island.

Second Aspect #

Check whether the home is legal or not. Rustic houses can give you more problems than happiness if you don't choose it correctly. The main problem is that, in Mallorca, it is rare to see houses in Rústicothat are completely legal. Until a few years ago, the regulations were not stringently enforced By legal, it is necessary to understand that they have a construction license and not rely solely on the details in cadastre and the registry. To do this, I suggested that he start by knowing where the house was, what type of land it was on, checking whether or not he had a building permit, whether he had supplies (water and electricity), whether he had any record of infringement for any illegal construction and then we would see the cadastre and the property registry.

Obtaining the documentation of the house is usually not a quick process since most of the documents have to be requested from the City Council and can take between two to three weeks.

Third Aspect #

If the home meets our requirements, the next step is to secure the purchase by signing a purchase option contract. In said contract, both parties agree to the sale of the property, for a price, within the agreed term and 10% of the sale price is usually paid in advance. In this way, the Seller agrees to sell the home and the Buyer acquires the right to purchase the home. When the buyer is ready to proceed with the final purchase, he will notify the Seller within the agreed period.

As for the term, I suggest that you put between three to four months to finish processing the documentation and request, where appropriate, the mortgage from a Spanish bank. Obviously, agreeing on a deadline does not imply signing it on the last day of the contract but rather having a deadline long enough to process everything correctly.

Final Aspect #

Finally, once the financing is obtained, the last step is to go to the notary, grant the public deed of sale, pay the property transfer taxes and present them to the property registry so that the property is registered in your name.

Conclusion #

In the end, the purchase process seemed quite clear to the client. However, I reiterated to him that the most important sections were to be clear about what he wanted the house for (to live or to rent) and, above all, its legality.

Because I think we will all agree that the purpose of buying a second home is to be calm and not have problems with the administration. Our client was clear on his intentions and understood the process of acquiring his new property. The house was adjusted to fit his needs and, now, he lives quietly. But before buying it, he knew exactly what he was buying and what he can do with the house.

Contact #

If you have any questions or are interested in a specific property, please contact me at [email protected] or +34 669334565 so I can help you.