Reserving a property

If you are serious about a particular property you would  need to put down your 10% to secure the deal.I have,in the past,said I would give someone a few days to consider & not allow others to view,but you cannot expect a seller to hang on while you dither around.Your deposit then means the seller cannot back out without a penalty,giving back your deposit + the same amount.I have sold property in England(as well as here) & that system is so bad because the buyer can back out at the last minute.It happened to me when my buyer ,the day we were going to conclude the deal,asked for 10000 pounds sterling off of the agreed price.I refused.I have sold property in Scotland,not sure if this happens now,but did so on a handshake & a"my word is my bond" system.Also in Scotland,closed bids for my property stating the time they would be disclosed & I picked the one I wanted.Rather quaint & maybe is no longer done but I find the Spanish system works very well over the 30 years I have sold properties here,including my business.

Thankyou for your information we want to put a reserve on the property .but our property in the UK is up for sale .is it wise to reserve the Spanish property will the seller wait for ours to sell our will we loose our reservation fee .

That is not how it is done here.I certainly wouldn't want to wait as I could lose a buyer who was ready to commit.And,yes, you would lose your deposit which would be 10% of the agreed price.Better to wait until your property is sold.

Thankyou Alice .Yes I think I will wait .

You must wait. It's too early in the tax year (Jan to Dec in Spain ) to move. 

Timing is everything because Spanish tax laws are different to the UK particularly capital gains tax. 

The general rule is do not sell a property in the UK and become tax resident (live there for more than 183 days) in Spain during the same year. Otherwise you will have to declare the sale in your annual tax return next year. Everyone has to submit this every year.

Like you our house has recently gone on the market. We need that good spring/summer selling window. We are not looking for a quick sale but do hope to complete buy the Autumn and move then. If we sell to early we will have to rent here for a few months. Going over in the Autumn will mean we won't become fiscal resident in Spain until 2019 and not need to complete a tax return until 2020 for the previous year. Our money is then just savings. The sale would have been 2018. It's not tax avoidance it's just about being tax savvy.

We've looked at houses online but not  viewed any. We don't have any intention of doing so yet either. When we go we will get a long term 6 or 11 months rental ( not easy to get during summer months but autumn easier ) this will give us the time to make sure the area is the right place for us to buy and also time to do it without the stress you are putting yourself through. Do consider renting first for a short time.

Everyone's financial situation is different you MUST seek advice from a tax consultant who knows about Spanish tax laws. Start with the info on Citizens Advice Spain.

Hope this helped. We've done 9 months of research before putting our house on the market. But I have started the down size declutter lol

Hope this helped.

When purchasing here in Spain there are a few pieces of advice I would give to anyone.

Get a Bankers Guarantee

Keep all your receipts

Make sure you get a Solicitor and NOT just a Conveyancer who works in a Solicitors office

If you are not sure what the seller/builder is talking about to confirm  any conversation then get them to put it in writing 

All the best

Margaret