Your Guide to Buying Property in Gran Canaria

In this brief guide, you will find answers to some of the most common queries that you may have when buying property in Gran Canaria. It goes without saying that, at Dream Home Okey, we are committed to providing you with all the information and advice you need. Please don’t hesitate to ask us . After all, that’s what we’re there for.

Hiring a reputable local lawyer

The best advice that we can give anyone who is buying property in Gran Canaria, and indeed in any foreign country, is to hire a reputable local lawyer to represent your interests. Your lawyer should be fluent in your own language and will usually be in charge of overseeing the necessary checks on the property and providing you with translated versions of contracts and other legal documents. Should you require, we can help you find the right lawyer from among our select list of professionals.

Prerequisites for foreigners buying property in Gran Canaria

All foreigners (including non-residents) who want to buy property in Spain will first have to obtain a foreigner identification number, known locally as the NIE. We can take care of requesting this for you from the Spanish authorities. You will also need to open a non-resident bank account into which to transfer the money you will use for the purchase.

Finding out the legal and financial state of the property in question

Once you have found a property you are interested in buying, the first step is to ask the Land Registry for a document, known as the ‘Nota Simple’. This document specifies who is the registered owner of the property and also if there is any outstanding debt on it, and is usually obtained either by your lawyer, or by ourselves.

We will also check with the Local Council to see if there are any pending fines on the property (for example, for being modified without a permit) as well as to make sure that all local taxes and other charges are fully paid up.

If you are buying property in Gran Canaria that forms part of a complex, there will be a Community of Property Owners that is in charge of collecting a monthly fee to pay for the upkeep of the common areas (lifts, stairs, swimming pools, gardens and so on). We will help you find out what this fee is beforehand, and also check if there are any outstanding dues in this regard.

Signing the Promise of Purchase and Sale Agreement

When you decide upon the property you want and are ready to go ahead, you will sign a Promise of Purchase and Sale Agreement with the owner. This preliminary contract will buy you the time you need to organise your finances and obtain a mortgage (if necessary).

The Promise of Purchase and Sale Agreement commits the two parties to the transaction and also stipulates the conditions of the sale, such as the price and the deadline for the completion of the sale. As the buyer, you will be required to pay a deposit of about 10% of the purchase price to the seller at this point.

Obtaining a Euro mortgage in Spain

Foreigners should not have any problem with obtaining a Euro mortgage from a Spanish bank and this is another thing we can we can help you with. The bank will ask to see your last two pay slips and your last two tax declarations in your own country. This is so that they can make sure you are financially solvent and can afford the monthly instalments (which usually should not exceed 35% of your total monthly income).

The bank will send an appraiser to estimate the value of the property concerned and will usually finance up to 80% of the appraised value if you are a non-resident, or up to 100% if you are resident in Spain.

Concluding the sale before a notary

The final step in the process of buying property in Gran Canaria is the signing of the Title Deed (called ‘Escritura’) in front of a notary. Your designated Dream Home Okey sales manager will accompany you to this appointment. Your lawyer, who will usually be in charge of translating the Title Deed into your own language beforehand, will also be there.

At the notary’s office, the Title Deed will be read out and subsequently signed by both parties and you will give the seller a cheque for the remaining part of the purchase price. If there already was a mortgage on the property, another cheque will be made to the seller’s bank to cancel the debt and this amount is of course deducted from what you owe the seller.

At this point, you will be the new owner of the property (congratulations!), and either the notary or your lawyer will register the transaction with the Land Registry – a step that, while not absolutely necessary, is highly recommended.

Additional expenses of buying property in Gran Canaria

Apart from the purchase price of the property, you will also have to budget up to a further 8-10% to cover additional fees, charges and taxes.

If you are buying a new property, you will have to pay 4.5% IGIC (a reduced-rate equivalent of VAT that applies to the Canary Islands), while for a second-hand property you would have to pay a 6.5% Property Transfer Tax instead. There will also be notary fees, Land Registry fees, bank charges related to obtaining your mortgage (if applicable), and the ‘Plusvalia’, a capital gains tax on the increase in value of the land (not the property itself) since the property was last sold. While this last tax is legally the responsibility of the seller, it is customary in the Canaries for the buyer to agree to pay it.

Your obligations as a foreigner owning property in Gran Canaria

If you are a non-resident, you will have to appoint a tax representative in Spain, who will deal with any correspondence related to your Spanish property and also make sure that all bills and other dues are paid up on time.

The dues you will have to pay include the IBI (a council tax based on the official value of your property), the garbage collection charge (known locally as the ‘Basura’), and possibly a Wealth Tax, called ‘Patrimonio’, if the value of your property is over a stipulated amount. Of course, there will also be the usual charges, such as water and electricity bills and community dues (if applicable).

While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this guide to buying property in Gran Canaria, we would like to stress that it is intended for information purposes only and that it is not a substitute for professional legal advice.