Let’s take one particularly disturbing example of what can happen. Mrs Jones is a non-resident who used to own a property in Spain. In July, unknown to her, it went to property auction and was sold to a third party for a price of less than half its value. The reason? She had failed to pay her I.B.I (council tax) bill and combined with fines and interest she owed €1,700. What was perhaps even more worrying was that Mrs. Jones hadn’t a clue what was happening as she had not been in Spain to receive her mail and there was no one available to check her post box. The other means of informing her of her debt also passed her by. The Boletín official del estado is a list of debts and other … [Read more...] about Avoiding the risk of Spanish property embargoes
homes in spain
Who’s who in the Spanish property buying minefield
Because of this it is worth seeking the advice of professionals. That doesn’t mean that everything will always go smoothly, but usually at least you have a method of complaining if it doesn’t. The variety of professionals available to help can also be rather confusing. Here we’ve compiled a little glossary to help you with the titles of the legal and financial people that you might need to use. Abogado – The abogado is a Spanish lawyer - a trained professional who can check the legal status of your documents, carry out inheritance instructions and complete the usual kinds of tasks you would expect of a solicitor in the UK. Notario – The notary is a public official who does not act on … [Read more...] about Who’s who in the Spanish property buying minefield
A letter from the Tax Authority
The imputed income tax is a tax on property payable by non-residents on the basis that if they wished they could receive rental income from their property. Spanish residents have to pay it too on any second property they own in Spain. For years Spanish property owners were largely unaware of the need to pay this tax. They were often not told about it at the time of purchase and without a similar tax in the UK they remained in luxurious ignorance. Until now. The Spanish Tax system tends to work according to the assumption that everyone knows what they should pay. Whereas in the UK you would expect to get a reminder of some kind for an unpaid bill, here it can go undetected for years until … [Read more...] about A letter from the Tax Authority