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Insider Insights & Buyer Trends: Mortgages, Owning and Renting Property in Spain
Oct 29, 2024
Join Kal Sutherland and Romy from VillaLux for "Lux Life" on Bay Radio International, your guide to owning and renting property in the sun. In this episode as they dive into the latest trends and stories surrounding property ownership and renting in Spain.
From the surge in mortgage-free home sales to the booming real estate market in Alicante province, discover essential tips and insights whether you're considering a move to Spain or have been living there for years.
Learn about the diverse preferences of international buyers, the evolving mortgage landscape, and the increasing demand for traditional Spanish homes ripe for renovation.
Stay informed and connected with the latest developments in Spanish real estate by tuning in to our regular program.
Follow us on Bay Radio and Villa Lux YouTube channels, websites, and social media for updates and exclusive content. Got questions? Reach out via WhatsApp or email, and let our experts guide you through your property journey in Spain.
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0:00
I'm car Southerland here at Bay radio
0:01
International we've been bringing you
0:02
regular Spanish news updates and
0:04
in-depth stories for almost 20 years now
0:07
in conjunction with our partners at
0:09
Villa Lux myself and Romy we'll be
0:11
looking at the big stories involving
0:12
owning and renting property in Spain
0:14
whether you're thinking about moving to
0:16
Spain have just moved or lived here for
0:18
longer join us for our new regular
0:20
program bringing you the very latest
0:21
stories on moving to and living in Spain
0:24
what stories have you got for us today
0:26
Remy I see we got two different stories
0:29
um first of all what I saw and I thought
0:31
it was quite interesting to to mention
0:33
that here um on the radio is that right
0:36
now at this moment um one in three of
0:39
every all the home Sals are actually
0:41
happening without a mortgage in in Spain
0:44
that's incredible there's some very rich
0:45
people around um and also alakan
0:48
Province understand has been doing quite
0:49
well exactly yeah alante Province um
0:52
they have a high number of new builds um
0:54
in 2023 that either started or um have
0:57
completed during that year um so that's
0:59
something else we're going to talk about
1:01
all right we'll also give you an idea
1:02
about what our partners Villa luux do
1:04
and how they do it uh towards the end of
1:06
the piece today so about this one in
1:09
three homes bought without a mortgage
1:11
now who who is buying that which
1:13
nationalities those with the money to do
1:16
that yeah I mean so what we see in all
1:18
of Spain of course it's different you
1:20
have different areas which attract
1:21
different nationalities or types of
1:23
people um but in general of course we
1:25
have a lot of foreigners from northern
1:27
European countries so the Dutch uh
1:29
Belgian French German Swiss I mean yeah
1:33
those countries Northern Europeans
1:34
generally exactly Northern Europeans
1:36
where where the money is where the money
1:38
is and the weather is bad um no and then
1:40
we got UK of course and we see also an
1:43
increase in uh American and Canadian
1:46
buyers at the moment um again of course
1:48
it depends on the area so they tend to
1:50
be more um centered around to cities
1:52
because they really like this European
1:54
lifestyle where they can just you know
1:56
have Cafe culture also yeah you know
1:58
don't necessarily need a car and really
2:00
can make use of this I mean the
2:02
relatively good infrastructure Europe
2:04
has that's interesting isn't it the
2:05
North Americans would prefer to be in a
2:07
city area whereas you would think most
2:09
perhaps Europe Northern Europeans and
2:10
Brits prefer to be along the coast
2:12
somewhere near the sea I know yeah and I
2:14
I really think it's because of that
2:15
because obviously I mean us is or Canada
2:18
as well they're such big countries and
2:20
you know Europe they see it as something
2:21
small and it's very connected I mean you
2:23
can hop on a flight for 50 EUR and
2:26
you're in Rome uh in like in an hour one
2:28
and a half hour so they really want to
2:30
be able to make use of that so that's
2:32
obviously why you know the cities is
2:34
very are attractive I was talking to our
2:37
new US correspondent Rich Reynolds about
2:39
this and um his daughter is in New York
2:43
and we were we were discussing how she
2:45
felt when they said they were going to
2:46
move to Spain they live him and his wife
2:48
in Valencia and he said well to be
2:50
honest you know where I was living
2:51
before is about 5 and a half hours away
2:53
from New York so we just jump on a plane
2:54
it's not much different I mean and we're
2:56
not quite we're kind of used to two and
2:57
a half hours maybe but not double that I
2:59
know yeah no it's it's completely
3:01
different and and it's really funny to
3:02
see that as well that you know actually
3:05
going from one side to the other side of
3:06
the US is almost as far as going from
3:08
the east of the US to to Europe so like
3:10
I mean yeah we we're pretty well
3:11
connected here yeah what's what's made
3:14
this work for people than being able to
3:17
buy a house without a mortgage Euro Zone
3:20
interest rates uh making a bit of a
3:22
difference to that I think um yeah of
3:24
course I mean in 2022 well until kind of
3:28
half 2022 uh in interest rates were low
3:30
I think at one point they were even
3:31
negative um and of course there was a
3:33
lot of people buying properties so even
3:35
though the prices of properties were
3:37
already increasing a bit people could
3:38
just get more for their money um that
3:42
has changed um so right now interest
3:44
rates rates as we all know have gone up
3:48
um but I mean you got of course in Spain
3:51
there's a lot of places like on the
3:53
coast or or ja where we are right now um
3:56
it's just very interesting for people to
3:58
to invest and um I think if you have
4:01
that money there is actually a crazy
4:03
figure something like most the coastal
4:05
areas in Spain where I think a third of
4:08
the properties are empty for most of the
4:09
year which is wow that's kind kind of
4:12
concerning I know yeah and it's it's
4:14
often where you even especially during
4:15
winter time when you drive through those
4:17
those towns you really I mean it's it's
4:19
difference day and night if if you come
4:21
there in summer it's so full of people
4:23
everybody is enjoying in a winter I mean
4:26
there's nobody so like that that happens
4:29
and of course again that depends on the
4:31
area and the region you're at like
4:32
sometimes I mean there's areas where
4:34
there's actually more to do during
4:36
winter time but yeah that it's true a
4:37
lot of foreign investors you can see
4:39
here so for those that do need a
4:40
mortgage what types of mortgages are
4:42
available and how easy is it for a
4:43
foreigner say from the US and and the UK
4:47
or northern Europe is it is it different
4:48
for all three I mean um what you see
4:51
these days is that you will mostly have
4:54
to apply with a Spanish bank for
4:57
mortgage so it's it's getting more and
4:58
more hard to to go to the bank of your
5:00
home country and to apply for mortgage
5:03
for a property in a different country
5:05
even European Banks if it's in a another
5:08
EU country you still have that that same
5:10
problem um but then the banks here they
5:12
are quite open and they're also able to
5:15
look at income and savings you have in
5:17
other countries but you will um I most
5:20
cases you will have to go to a Spanish
5:21
Bank um if it's easy I mean it really
5:24
depends on the financial situation and
5:26
most northern Europeans because
5:28
obviously the incomes are you know
5:30
generally higher in those countries um
5:33
so yeah he they will be looked at you
5:36
know in a good way um you will need as a
5:39
non-resident um a 30% down payment so
5:43
you can't just Finance you know 100% of
5:46
your property not even 95 Banks just to
5:49
have this the security the guarantee
5:51
they need 30% of uh of the property paid
5:53
up front um and in case of a resident
5:57
that's that's 20% so you do need some
6:00
savings it can be obviously quite a
6:01
complicated process not just buying in
6:03
another country but there's another
6:04
language to think about but uh as I
6:07
understand it companies like Villa Lux
6:09
yourselves and and others do actually
6:11
provide a pretty all round service to
6:13
help people uh go through all the
6:15
barriers and the problems and the issues
6:16
that may arise yeah and that's
6:18
especially like you're exactly saying it
6:20
right that that's what we really try to
6:22
do we really try to help people and
6:24
support them because everything is in a
6:26
different language uh I remember when I
6:28
came here uh for the first time like six
6:31
seven years ago time goes fast um I mean
6:34
everything was new you're in a different
6:35
country you have to try to figure your
6:37
life out and then you have to do
6:38
everything in our language and it can be
6:40
very overwhelming and because of our
6:43
experience I mean we have Partners if
6:46
you talk about Banks uh lawyers I mean
6:48
anything like we know who to contact and
6:50
to um basically get you in touch with so
6:53
that that's something we try to do and
6:54
we really try to line our our clients up
6:57
with the things they need and the people
6:59
they need need um just to feel secure
7:01
because I think a lot of time people
7:03
people come here and they I mean
7:05
sometime they're scared and they there
7:07
were some horror stories in the past
7:09
certainly if you think about 10 to 20
7:11
years ago you know there were all kinds
7:12
of strange things going on not least
7:14
with how people were being able to buy
7:15
their properties but even where some of
7:17
those properties were located and I
7:18
think we should lay any fears that most
7:21
of those problems have gone away now it
7:23
it they they have and I mean I think one
7:26
story I once heard which was quite to me
7:28
it was like incredible
7:30
um was some people they bought a
7:32
property in Spain I think a bit more
7:33
Inland and I mean they went back to I
7:35
think it was the Netherlands came came
7:37
back to Spain after half a year and the
7:39
house was gone you know and we have
7:41
heard stories like that or people have
7:43
been waiting for ages because they've
7:44
been told now they can't move into their
7:46
property there's no water no electricity
7:48
but like I said these are stories from
7:49
the past these are from the past yeah
7:51
and you can really see that over the
7:52
last years Spain Spain really has made
7:54
like kind of a switch and and right now
7:57
when you go to the notary for example
7:59
everything gets checked I mean you will
8:00
have a lawyer on your side as well that
8:02
before you make any big payments you
8:04
know they will check everything they
8:05
will make sure everything is registered
8:07
correctly because that didn't always
8:09
happen before but right now you cannot
8:11
buy a property anymore without
8:13
everything being you being the way it
8:16
should be so Bay radio International
8:17
it's our new segment where we're looking
8:19
at buying owning selling renting
8:22
properties in Spain so whether you're
8:24
just thinking about it whether you just
8:25
moved or even if you've been here for
8:27
quite a while there'll probably be
8:28
something in this for you over the
8:31
coming weeks Ry our partner from villax
8:33
is with us today and the other Story
8:34
You've selected is about a province in
8:36
eastern Spain which has just had its
8:38
biggest year for building homes since
8:40
2007 where is that it's Ali the
8:43
beautiful Province we we live no yeah no
8:45
it actually caught my attention the
8:47
article because um I mean obviously we
8:50
know that this this area is is very much
8:52
attracted by by foreigners I mean you
8:54
like to invest here um the market has
8:57
been good um I think over the last last
8:59
years at least um but yeah no that's a
9:02
new trend that actually right now
9:04
they're building more and more
9:05
properties um especially in the marina
9:07
Al area where we are at right now um
9:11
that that's a good one alant city as
9:12
well Marina Baka as well so it's really
9:15
tourist it's quite a large number isn't
9:17
it 52% some 8,783 83 properties I know
9:22
yeah and and I think um the marina Alta
9:26
actually counts for
9:27
26.5% of that whole sum so like yeah
9:31
it's it's quite some homes that are
9:32
being buils around here I remember when
9:34
I first came here it was pre 2008 and
9:37
pretty much every Skyline had a crane in
9:39
it and it does again yeah I mean yeah
9:42
yeah I mean you drive around and you see
9:44
it and it's just because there's such a
9:46
a high demand in the end I mean people
9:48
keep wanting to come here and and it
9:50
just gets almost I mean it gets more and
9:52
more popular um these areas um the
9:55
coastal areas in in Spain and I think
9:57
what happened as well is after after
9:59
covid people just realize you know we
10:01
have to work from home or we have the
10:03
possibility to work from home um we have
10:06
some money on the bank and that also you
10:07
know we got back to the you don't get
10:09
any money out of the banks these days
10:10
for interest so you're actually better
10:12
off putting it into property anyway
10:13
exactly yeah yeah it's more stable and
10:16
you know that that's why they decided to
10:18
to invest in a property here and and the
10:19
good thing here as well is even if
10:21
you're not able to to be here all year
10:23
around or maybe not for one year you
10:24
can't even come you can still rent it
10:26
out and it's just a really a really good
10:29
investment if you have the opportunity
10:31
of course and the chance to do it yeah
10:33
and vills offer a whole range of
10:36
different services not just from buying
10:38
but also selling renting and looking
10:40
after properties if people are away for
10:43
large parts of the year uh tell us a
10:44
little bit more about what your daily
10:47
sort of tasks are I think quite a lot
10:49
really it's a lot yeah it's a lot and
10:50
that makes it very interesting as well
10:52
because it literally is it goes from
10:54
helping uh people advising them about
10:56
you know how to rent out their property
10:58
to you know uh sometimes go to the
11:00
notary
11:01
um I mean yeah everything it's it's
11:04
really it's very people oriented which
11:06
is which is great we get in touch with
11:07
people from different nationalities as I
11:09
was saying before and that's really what
11:10
it makes just very exciting exciting job
11:13
didn't you say I think I've heard you
11:14
say that you are number one on Google in
11:16
the Netherlands which is where you're
11:17
from of course we are yes I am if if you
11:19
didn't hear yes I am um yeah no we're we
11:23
ranked number one in Google Netherlands
11:25
so because of that we get a lot of Dutch
11:27
inquiries or Dutch cents that are
11:29
actually looking in the area sometimes
11:31
they're not 100% sure yet where they
11:33
want to buy because of course you know
11:35
the province is is very big and even the
11:38
marina alt area you got different towns
11:41
um but yeah there's a lot of interest a
11:43
lot of Dutch buyers at the moment um so
11:45
we really I mean obviously we specialize
11:47
in that um and yeah I mean going back on
11:51
that story um about of course the new
11:53
build homes we also realize that there's
11:55
more demand for people actually coming
11:57
and and or they're more interested in
12:00
building and um yeah that's often also
12:03
because there's not perhaps exactly what
12:06
they're looking for or or what's being
12:08
built might not be perhaps what they're
12:09
after but you know if you've got the
12:11
money you can build your own can't you
12:12
true and also what we see as a trend is
12:14
that I mean almost everybody and
12:16
especially the Dutch at this moment who
12:17
are buying they invest in um like more
12:21
traditional Spanish property let's say
12:23
from the 80s and they all reform it I
12:25
mean reforms you know if they find the
12:27
great location the plot with the house
12:29
which is on a great location cuz the
12:30
location is the only thing you can
12:32
change that's interesting I have
12:33
actually seen some people completely um
12:35
flatten and and build but there's some
12:37
very nice ones where they keep the Old
12:39
Brick and build from that which is and
12:41
that's it I think that keeping that
12:44
traditional the traditional Spanish feel
12:47
of a house like that that's something
12:48
people um want these days and I think
12:51
that's that's really nice because in the
12:52
end we all move to Spain because we like
12:54
you know the culture the weather of
12:56
course the lifestyle and there are some
12:59
types of homes I mean it really depends
13:02
on your preferences there are some types
13:03
of homes that you could see in for
13:05
example Netherlands as well um and I
13:07
think these traditional houses they
13:08
really you know embody what Spain is so
13:11
it's great that they do that way it is
13:13
you can find out more about the
13:14
properties vux has available at
13:16
www.villa.com or you can call Romy or
13:19
Max on the office number 9657
13:23
n459 so stay on top of all the latest
13:25
developments in living and owning a
13:27
property in Spain you can join right
13:29
here on Bay radio International couple
13:31
of times a month you'll also find us on
13:33
our Bay radio and vux YouTube channels
13:35
and our websites and social media and if
13:37
You' have any questions at all about
13:39
anything you've heard today or anything
13:40
else on the subject then you can contact
13:42
us via our WhatsApp
13:44
68448 4 or email Studio B radio.fm and
13:48
we'll bring you the answers in future
13:49
programs because Romy and Max they know
13:51
everything thank you very much thank you
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