Note

Risks of buying a cheap house in Spain

§ 1Why risk rises as price falls

At low prices, sellers may be heirs, owners abroad or people who know a problem exists. Buyers with cash move fast, and checks are skipped. This page belongs to the chapter on the rules on affordable places, and it lists the risks and the check for each. It does not suggest that cheap homes are bad. It suggests that they need more care.

§ 2Licences and legal use

A house may have been extended or built without licence, or stand on land where building is limited. The property types section explains rural property and the coastal law, and the location checks section covers water and sewage. Ask the town hall for the planning status in writing. A building without licence may be hard to insure, to connect to services and to sell.

§ 3The registry and the cadastre

The registry note shows the owner, the description and the charges. The cadastral record shows the parcel and the building. They often differ. A difference is a task for your lawyer, not a reason to panic, and it should be corrected before the deed. The legal process section explains.

§ 4Debts

The local property tax is secured on the property, and the law makes the acquirer liable for unpaid community expenses of the last expired part of the year and the previous three calendar years. Ask for receipts, ask the community administrator for a certificate and ask the seller to settle them before the deed.

§ 5Structure and services

Roofs, walls, damp and wiring can be costly. A written survey with costs is the answer. Water, sewage and power in a rural house need their own checks: a well must be registered, a septic tank authorised and the electricity connection legal. The location checks section explains each.

§ 6Co-owners and heirs

If several heirs own the home, all must sign, and an unresolved inheritance can delay or block a sale. Ask for the title deeds and the inheritance papers, and let your lawyer check that every owner signs.

§ 7Occupation

Check that nobody lives in the home without a right. Ask the seller, the neighbours and the community. We did not read the current law on occupation, so ask your lawyer what the contract should say and how to deliver possession.

§ 8Insurance

An old or empty home can be hard to insure at a reasonable price. Ask insurers before you commit, and tell them the facts, as the section on owning and selling explains.

§ 9Walk away

If the answers do not come or keep changing, walk away. Cheap houses in Spain explains what cheap homes are.

Houses in Spain under 50000 explains the lower budget.

Houses in Spain under 100000 explains the higher budget.

§ 10What we could not verify

We did not read the current law on occupation or any regional rule on rural building.

Legal note. How the process works in general. It is not legal advice, and it never replaces an independent Spanish lawyer acting for you.