Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

PROPERTY

Golden Visa: These are the properties €500K will buy you in Spain

Spain has a Golden Visa scheme which allows Non-Europeans to be granted a residency permit with an investment of €500K in the country.

Published: 3 February 2020 11:25 CET
Golden Visa: These are the properties €500K will buy you in Spain
All photos: Lucas Fox

So we looked for a selection of the best properties across Spain that would qualify as an investment sufficient for any non-European's wanting a golden visa.

From a one.-bedroom flat in the capital to a typical island-style house on Ibiza, here's what half a million (or a little bit more) will buy you in Spain.

READ ALSO: How to make the most of Spain's Golden Visa scheme


Photo: AFP
 

Renovated historic townhouse in Girona city

PRICE: €530,000

This two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse over four floors is lovingly restored and offers wonderful architectural features located on a quaint cobbled street in the heart of Girona Old Town.

Plus it comes with a tourist licence  meaning you can immediately start renting it all-year round and bring in a tidy little income.

For full details click here

New build apartment with 42m² terrace on Costa Brava.

Price: €500,000

This three bedroom apartment boasts spectacular sea views from its location on the edge of the Castell Cap Roig natural park on one of Spain’s most sought after stretches of Mediterranean coast.

For full details click here

One-bed apartment in newly renovated communal project in Madrid’s Chamberi

Price: €585,000

A spectacular luxury new build apartment with 1 bedroom shares exclusive common areas in the Trafalgar neighbourhood of Madrid’s Chamberi.

The jewel in this project is a communal rooftop terrace with beautiful views of the city, but the building also offers use of solarium and pool, gym, reception, parking for vehicles and bicycles and storage rooms.

For full details click here.

Two-bedroom renovated apartment in the heart of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter

Price: €525,000

This spacious two-bedroom apartment is located within a magnificent building dating bacj to 1856 but fully renovated in 2015 to maintain original architectural features with all mod-cons.

And the best thing is that it is in the very heart of Barcelona's oldest quarter, the Barrio Gotico.

For full details click here

Modern 3-bedroom apartment with terrace in Sitges. 

Price: €540,000

Just a two.minute walk from the beach in the wonderful seaside resort of Sitges, 40km south of Barcelona, this brand new apartment also offers a communal roodtop terrace with chill.out areas and swimming pool. 

This 83m² apartment makes an ideal holiday home with brilliant rental possibilities. 

For full details click here

Massive apartment in Valencia's old town centre

Price: €550,000

This newly restored apartment of 237 m² in a prime location at the heart of Valencia's Ciutat Vella, less than 50 metres from the Central Market and 5 minutes from the Town Hall Square.

The spacious layout offers five bedrooms and three bathrooms as well as an open plan kitchen living room area in one of the eatsern city's most sought after areas. 

For full details click here.

Traditional house in San Lorenzo, Ibiza

Price: €660,000

Raise the budget a bit and you could buy this typical Ibizan house with 4-bedrooms, a traditional garden, fruit trees and vines, plus a swimming pool and chill-out area.

This charming Ibiza-style house is in San Lorenzo, an area with quick and easy access from everywhere on the island and could make an ideal holiday home or year-round family residence.

For full details click here

Loft-style house on a quiet street in the centre of Malaga

Price: €795,000

This beautiful property blends classic Andalusian architectural features with modern loft-style living on a quiet street in Malaga, a few meters from the historic centre.

This 3-storey house comprising 294 m² (354 m² built) on a plot of 130 m² boasts interior courtyard, ancient Roman style arches and a sweeping staircase. 

Full details HERE

 

And if you really have deep pockets…

Beautiful villa with sea views in Marbella

Price: €2,995,000

With a price-tag just under three million, this is one of the last villas for sale in a new development in Marbella’s exclusive Golf Valley in Nueva Andalucia with spectacular views across the Mediterranean Sea.

It offers four bedrooms and five bathrooms and has its own 48  m² swimming pool. 

Full details HERE

READ MORE: 

 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
Updated: 11 May 2024 08:31 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

SHOW COMMENTS