Real estate agents Mallorca and Andalusia

On top of the purchase price a buyer in the Balearics should budget 10 % to 13 % for a resale and 12 % to 15 % for a new build, covering transfer tax or VAT, notary, land registry, legal fees and, where applicable, mortgage costs.

A developer selling off plan must hold every stage payment in a special account and back it with a bank guarantee or an insurance policy, so that if the building is not delivered the buyer recovers the amounts paid plus interest.

The cadastral reference value is a figure assigned to every property by the cadastre and used as the minimum taxable base for transfer tax and inheritance tax, so buying below it does not reduce the tax due.

The Spanish Coastal Law places the shoreline itself in public ownership and imposes a protection easement of 100 metres inland from the boundary, reduced to 20 metres in areas already urbanised when the law took effect, within which new construction is heavily restricted.

Under the standard penitential arras contract the buyer who withdraws loses the deposit paid, and the seller who withdraws must return double it, which makes the deposit a fixed and symmetrical penalty rather than a simple advance on the price.

An energy performance certificate is compulsory before a property is marketed for sale or for a letting of more than four months, and the rating must be shown in the advertisement as well as handed to the buyer or tenant.