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Moving to Spain: Should I rent or buy on the Costa del Sol?

Whether you’re a frequent visitor to the Costa del Sol or are thinking of moving to the area, you need to decide whether to rent or buy a property.

Published: 21 December 2020 12:42 CET
Moving to Spain: Should I rent or buy on the Costa del Sol?
Photo: AFP

Both options come with advantages and disadvantages. And of course, the ultimate decision will depend on your personal circumstances, finances and medium-term plans.

In this article Celeste Alonso, manager of The Property Agent and an expert on real estate on the Costa del Sol, explores the pros and cons of renting or buying real estate on the Costa del Sol and then crunches the numbers.

The advantages of buying property on the Costa del Sol

If you plan to visit several times a year or make the Costa del Sol your permanent home, buying property makes a good option for the following reasons:

Stable and convenient

Owning the property you live in adds stability to your situation. And if it’s a holiday home, you can leave your stuff in it from one visit to the next.

Financial profit

Buying a home should reap you rewards in the medium to long term because the underlying trend in property prices is always up. But to make a profit, you need to sell at the right time.

Personalisation

You can do what you like in your own home to adapt and furnish it to exactly what you want. If you’re buying off plan on the Costa del Sol, you can even customise the property at construction stage to suit you.

Leverage

When mortgage interest rates are low (as they are now) Check this article  you can get much more for your money when you buy.

Haven in the sun

And last but definitely not least, you own a home in a place with 320 days of sunshine a year!


Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash

The disadvantages of buying real estate on the Costa del Sol

But it isn’t all about benefits – buying property does have its drawbacks too. They include:

High initial costs

Buying a home in Andalucia involves taxes and fees on top of the purchase price. And they’re expensive – budget for between 10 percent and 12 percent extra.

The counterbalance? Think of your purchase as a long-term investment so you have time to recoup buying costs.

Location inflexibility

You may discover you don’t like the location you’ve bought in.

The counterbalance? Research the area carefully before you buy and use an agent with specialised local knowledge.

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Costs are all yours

Owning a home inevitably involves maintenance and upkeep that can be costly. And those costs are all yours.

The counterbalance? Buy a new-build property on the Costa del Sol.

The advantages of renting real estate on the Costa del Sol

If you’re not sure where to buy or confident that you’re going to stay on the Costa del Sol, renting a property offers a good temporary solution because:

Low initial costs

You only need one to two month’s rent plus the deposit and your initial costs are covered.

Flexibility

You have no tie to the rental property because you can leave with a month’s notice.

Did you know? The cheapest townhouse and villa rentals on the western Costa del Sol start at €900 a month.

The disadvantages of renting a property on the Costa del Sol

On the other hand, rentals have the following cons:

Uncertainty

Living in the property depends on a contract and the landlord might not renew it.

The counterbalance? Look at rent-to-buy options.

Zero wealth creation

Your monthly rent goes into the landlord’s bank account and adds nothing to your personal wealth.

The counterbalance? Make renting a temporary solution and plan to buy within 3 to 6 months.

Did you know? The most expensive villa rentals on the western Costa del Sol reach up to €16,000 a month.

How much does it cost to buy real estate on the Costa del Sol?

While renting offers a good temporary option, the balance ultimately tips in favour of buying. To give you an idea of what you can buy, we’ve sourced the cheapest and most expensive properties on the market right now.

The cheapest property

This comes as a very pleasant surprise – 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms over a spacious 74 square metre apartment plus sweeping sea views and designated parking space. All within a 10-minute drive of Estepona and Sotogrande. Yours for just €97,500. Find out more

The most expensive property

At the other end of the spectrum, this golf-front villa takes premium living on the Costa del Sol to new heights. Six bedrooms and seven bathrooms spread spaciously over 1,351 square metres. And you’ll also enjoy breathtaking sea views, marble floors, Mediterranean gardens and a pool. Plus all the extras available to residents at Finca Cortesín. Yours for €11,000,0000. Find out more

This article has been written by Celeste Alonso, who runs The Property Agent specializing in real estate on the Costa del Sol. If you are looking for property on the Costa del Sol contact her for HERE. 

READ MORE: 

 

Member comments

  1. Having owned property in France and not being a full time resident there I would add squatters to the list of disadvantages. We were relatively lucky as neighbours informed us quickly and the police acted. I would never buy another property in France or Spain without being a full time resident

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PROPERTY

Q&A: What to do if you buy a property built illegally in Spain

Buying an illegally built property in Spain is fairly common but can have several consequences down the line. Here's what you need to know, how to make it legal, whether you can sell it, and the benefits of doing so.

Published: 25 April 2024 09:35 CEST
Q&A: What to do if you buy a property built illegally in Spain

Unfortunately, over the years, many properties have been built illegally in Spain, not adhering to local rules and regulations. Foreigners who don’t know the legislation can easily fall into the trap of buying one of these properties, only to find out later down the line.

Maybe it’s when they come to sell or perhaps it’s when they want to do works or improvements on the property.

There are several reasons a home could have been built illegally in Spain. Firstly, it could have been built on the wrong type of land. This is it could have been built on suelo rústico, rural land where residential properties are prohibited, also called no urbanizable. 

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It could have also been built too near the coast. This is down to the Ley de Costas or Coastal Law, which was brought into force in December 1989 in order to protect the costas from overdevelopment and high rises spoiling the landscape. 

The law defines different areas of the beach and dictates which is public land, owned by the state and which parts can be owned privately and built on.

If you buy or own a house in one of these non-buildable zones, there are many problems you could face down the line, often sooner rather than later. This is because there are several rules you have to abide by concerning works, reforms and extensions. In some cases, they may not be allowed at all and everything must be approved first by the local government by providing a detailed project.

Because of coastal erosion, this issue is getting worse as some shoreside homes that were once built outside of these areas are finding that they’re now illegal.

READ ALSO: 

The house may have also had extensions made to it that were built without a license, meaning that the extra parts are illegal.

Q: How do I know if my home is legal or not?

A: Unfortunately it can be difficult to know if your property is legal or not. You could have bought and signed for it with a notary and it could be inscribed on the Property Registry, but this still doesn’t mean it was built to the correct specification and on the right land.

The only way to truly tell is to find out if your home ever had a Licencia de Primera Ocupación or First Occupation license, also referred to as a Cédula de Habitabilidad or Certificate of Habitability. This means that according to the authorities, it is suitable to live in and has the correct licenses.

READ ALSO: How to get Spain’s certificate of liveability for properties

Q: What happens if my property doesn’t have a habitability certificate?

A: If your property has never had a Certificate of Habitability, you must regularise the legal situation. First you’ll need to start a legalisation file (expediente de legalización) and contact the town hall. Depending on the seriousness of the case (ie. where exactly it was built, if there’s any structural danger, whether the entire property is illegal or just an extension) the cost of making an illegal property legal can be considerable. As such, each case must be studied individually with the help of an expert to determine whether it is even feasible or worth the investment.

The next step is to bring in an architect and check whether the property complies with all the building regulations. If it does, you simply need present the expediente de legalización to your local town hall, who will confirm whether or not the property adheres to building regulations and can be made legal.

If it doesn’t, you’ll need to consider whether it will comply with the regulations after some renovations. If that’s the case, you’ll need to draw up a renovations project document (proyecto de reforma) outlining the proposed changes and how they will adhere to building regulations. It must be presented to the town hall along with your expediente de legalización.

According to law firm Acal, the legalisation process can be broken down into steps as follows:

  • Contact the town hall.
  • Begin with the expediente de legalización when the town hall confirm whether or not the property can be made legal.
  • Pay the corresponding fees and taxes (in this case it will be IBI) depending on your municipality and region.
  • If you need to make renovations, obtain the proyecto de reforma and hire an architect.
  • Obtain a building permit from the town hall.
  • Once completed, register the property in the Land Registry.

READ ALSO: What is Spain’s IBI tax and how do I pay it?

Q: Do I really need to make my property legal?

A: Yes, because it will benefit you in the long run. It doesn’t matter what the previous owner told you when you were originally buying the property, owning a property that isn’t fully legal (or legal at all) can create problems and even lead to fines worth up to 20 percent of the property’s value in extreme cases.

By going through the legalisation process and making the relevant renovations, if necessary, you gain a legal property for all purposes and with all the benefits that entails.

You will not have problems setting up, paying, or cancelling electricity, water or gas utility services. You won’t have to undertake reforms and renovation work unofficially, avoiding the eyes of the authorities. Instead you’ll be able to register your property in the Land Registry, which will make things much easier when you decide to sell it or pass it on.

In terms of selling it, perhaps that is the biggest benefit of legalising your illegal property: by registering it properly, you will be able to benefit from its full value when selling it. When a property is illegal, the appraised value will probably be no more than 40-45 percent of its real value at best.

The renovations needed to get your property in shape to meet the building regulations could be costly, but will they cost you half of the total value of your property? 

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