What are the expenses for buying a house or apartment in Spain?

[Anderson]

When you consider buying a house it is normal that you look at the sale price, but before making a decision I suggest you calculate all the expenses involved in this operation for not being surprised after reserving your new house. As a general rule, I recommend to add 20% on top of the apartment / house price for all the expenses. Let's look at everything you have to pay when buying a house with a practical case.

 

Expenses for buying a home without a mortgage in Spain

If you want to buy a home of €200,000 and you have the capital without having to apply for a mortgage, the expenses arising from the purchase of a house that you have to calculate are as follows:

 

Notary. It is necessary to make a public deed of the purchase of the house so it will be necessary to calculate how much the notary charges for this management. Notarial fees are regulated by the State, which means that all notaries charge the same, although they can make some discount. The expense is calculated taking into account the amount of the purchase and the number of copies of the deed. For a house of € 200,000, the approximate notary fees amount to €1,272.

 

Property registry. The deed must be registered in the corresponding Land Registry when it has already been signed at the notary. The cost of this registration also depends on the price of the house. For a house of € 200,000 you have to calculate about €620 for registration.

Agency fees for registrations and etc help. Make the arrangements in the Property Registry and in the Treasury to settle the taxes. The fees charged by the agency are free although they could be estimated at around €500.

 

Taxes. To the expenses of buying a house you also have to add the taxes with which this operation is taxed, taking into account that they are different if it is a new or second-hand home. When you buy a new home you have to pay VAT, specifically 10%, that is, you would pay €20,000. In addition, you have to pay the IAJD (Documented Legal Acts Tax) when making the deed that represents between 0.5% and 2% of the deed price, depending on the autonomous community where the house is located. However, if the house is second-hand, the ITP (Proper Estate Transfer Tax) is paid, which varies between 4% and 10% depending on the autonomous community. For example, In Madrid it is 6% and in Valencian community it is 10%

 

Expenses of buying a home with a mortgage in Spain

When to buy a house you need to apply for a mortgage, you have to add the costs of formalizing the mortgage loan to the costs of buying and selling. These expenses have been reduced with the mortgage law that came into force in June 2019, so that now you only have to pay the valuation of the house, which can range from €300 to €500 on average. The rest of the expenses of the mortgage deed (notary, registry, management and IAJD) correspond to the bank, in addition some entities also pay the valuation of the house.

 

However, if you sign a mortgage you have to calculate the cost of the opening fee that includes all the study and management expenses of the loan, although there are also banks that do not charge this commission, which means savings.

 

In summary, the expenses to buy a house include the costs of notary, registration, management and appraisal, if you apply for a mortgage, and on the other hand, it is necessary to settle the corresponding taxes, which together represents about 20% of the price of your new home cost.