You have made the decision to move to Spain and are now looking for a property to buy? Where do you start?

Firstly, I would suggest you go on to the internet and look at the various agents that are offering properties for sale in Spain. Many of these companies are run by people who have already emigrated to Spain and will know the many problems and pitfalls that arise when buying a property in Spain.

The next step is decide where you want to live, is it in a Town (urbanization), the Country (campo) even the mountains, the lakes or the Coast. If you want everything close at hand to you, then your best bet would be look at properties in a Town or on the Coast especially if you require medical facilities close at hand. You then need to decide whether you want to buy an apartment, townhouse, villa, finca (country house with land) or a property that needs renovation.

You have now made a decision on where you want to live and what sort of property you want to buy. It is now time to start contacting the agents, both those on the internet and those who are located in the town close to where you wish to live. They will not only provide you with the details of properties they feel would be of interest to you, but they should also be able to provide you with details regarding solicitors, banks (if you may need a mortgage to purchase the property), schools, medical facilities in that area. If possible get the bank to confirm with you what sort of percentage of monies they would lend on the purchase of a property, most banks in Spain only provide 75% mortgages.

You have now found the property of your dreams, one of the first things that you should ask of your agent is does the owner of the property have the right to sell the property and if so can they produce the papers confirming this. If no such document is available, then ask if they will be drawn up before the sale. If not, then do not proceed with the purchase.

Also ask your agent if they can confirm that the property being sold has been provided with all the correct planning permissions by the Local Town Hall. If you find that the property has not been provided with the correct planning permissions by the Town Hall, this may mean that the property has been built illegally. At present the Government in Spain is now starting to enforce the laws regarding illegal builds and this has sometimes resulted in properties being demolished and large fines incurred by the developers.

However, the problem above is only a minor one, and as long as you find yourself a reputable agent to help you in your task of finding the property of your dreams then these above problems should be of no consequence to you.

I hope that the information provide aboves helps you in make your decision to purchase a property in Spain a pleasant one.

Allison Thompson, living in Spain and partner of a small and friendly real estate company. http://www.inlandpropertyservices.com