3 bed 2 bath Townhouse in San Pedro del Pinatar Murcia Costa Calida Spain

3 bed 2 bath Townhouse in San Pedro del Pinatar 

Ref 92651  € 209,000

Exclusive complex of townhouses located in San Pedro Pinatar. Containing 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms spread over 2 floors. They also have an open and bright living room and a modern kitchen with direct access to the back patio area. The ground floor features an en suite bedroom and toilet under the stairs. The back patio features a laundry area equipped with a washing machine. 
On the upper floor we find another 2 bedrooms with access to the terrace, studio area and a big double bathroom.
All town houses include pre installed air conditioning, white goods, shower screens in bathrooms and fitted wardrobes in the bedrooms.
They also have a garden, private pool and parking on the plot.

Tourist Licence For Your Holiday Home Spain 3

The last video on Tourist Licence For Your Holiday Home  Spain 3

Tourist Licence For Your Holiday Home in Spain 2

This is the 2 Part of 3 videos about getting your Tourist Licence for your Holiday home on the Costa Blanca

Is renting your house as a holiday let still a viable option? Part six – my thoughts on the future of the holiday let market

Is renting your house as a holiday let still a viable option? 

 Part 6 – My thoughts on the future of the holiday let market

Predicting the future is not something I would consider my forte, but as an owner you are always looking ahead at least a year (or should be).  The licensing was introduced because the massively influential hotel lobby felt self-catering lets were undercutting their businesses, especially when the good times came to an abrupt holt in 2008/9.  In fact, if the financial crisis hadn’t happened I suspect we would not be where we are today with rental legalities.  The crisis highlighted to the Spanish government that they were missing out on millions in unpaid tax on undeclared income and that combined with pressure from the hotel lobby was the catalyst for licenses.

Neither of these factors is going to change – hotels will continue to insist on tighter controls for their ‘competition’ and the government will continue to want to receive tax revenues.  So where will it go from here?

Some owners will find they can’t let legally as their property isn’t suitable.  Changes that have been made without proper permissions will start to be picked up as inspections become a more integrated part of the process.  At some point I feel there will be an introduction of re-inspections of already licensed homes, maybe every 3 years or so, with some sort of cross-checking of information between government departments, but that is still some way off.

Some owners have already said it isn’t worth the ‘hassle’ of going legal, they have either foregone the rental income or are selling up.  Some will continue to rent under the radar, but there are checks that tax inspectors can make so sooner or later they will either be caught, or someone will report them.  Remember the fines can go into tens of thousands of Euros.  A fine can be big enough to require you to sell the property!

So, are there benefits to owners?  Yes.  For those that have always tried to be legal there is now a level playing field.  We all have to meet certain standards, certain criteria, and we all have to pay our taxes.    In theory this will weed out in time from the system those who gave the holiday let market a poor name through badly managed and poorly maintained property.  I have noticed a marked increase already in weekly rental costs as owners have increased prices to take into account tax payable, I suspect that upward trend will continue for another year or so as people readjust to their income:cost ratio.  Having to register your guests’ passport details with the Guardia Civil will also bring a degree of security and comeback for the owner – we have never had groups of stags and hens or students but those who have say they often paid the price in problems caused but because they did not obtain the full details of the renter and had no contract, all they could do was retain the damages deposit, assuming they had the sense to take one.

Owners need to be organised – booking forms, contracts, passport details, proper book-keeping and tax returns.  Staying on top of new rules and regulations is the tricky part as some changes are very sudden and not necessarily that well publicised.

With Town Hall now involved in the early stage of obtaining the license I suspect, under pressure from the hotel lobby, that in some areas, maybe in time all areas, the number of new licenses issued will be restricted.  This has happened on the Spanish islands already and is probably the reason why the new earlier stage with Town Halls in the application system has been introduced.  How soon that will happen will be down to the individual Town Halls. 

In any business supply:demand ratio influences price, so fewer available rentals and high demand will eventually increase prices further, but owners must not get ‘greedy’ or people will just look at alternative locations.  It will be a balancing act and for owners a very steep learning curve as we all try to stay on top of the regulations.

Remember this is a blog, not legal advice, so I strongly recommend that you speak to your legal team if you have concerns or are worried about your compliance with the new laws.  Renting out your holiday home was never meant to be stressful or difficult, and some owners will find the new rules just too much to deal with and stop renting or even sell up.  But if you love your dream home in the sun then filling out a few forms and getting organised can still have its rewards.

So, in conclusion, do we think it is still viable to rent out to the holiday market?  A resounding YES!   But keep it legal!                                                
                                                   Beverley

www.spanishdreamproperty.com

info@spanishdreamproperty.com

www.housebythepool.com

Is renting your house as a holiday let still a viable option? Part 4 Other requirements

Is renting your house as a holiday let still a viable option?

Part 4 – Other requirements

Being legal and having a licence applies to the property owner but avoiding fines also means ensuring those you use to work for you are also legally registered.   There have in the past been those who were paid keyholders and cleaners who were working cash-in-hand and not declaring their income. When you register for your password with the Guardia Civil they will ask who acts as your keyholder if you are not yourself resident in Spain.  They note the name and contact details and request the person concerned attend the office with their passport and tax number. If you are found employing an unregistered worker, then you can both be fined.

Another common practice has been for people to act as unofficial taxis providing airport transfers.  There are regulations regarding this and recently a mini bus owner was fined 6000 euros when stopped by police and the passengers said they were paying the man.   Yes, that said six thousand euros! The fines in Spain are not small!

For some reason no one yet asks you to produce copies of your insurance certificate, but I’m sure that will come in time as you do need to be insured.  We have always had a specialist holiday rental policy from a UK insurer (small-print in your mother tongue is tricky enough, but in another language, it is a total nightmare!).  This covers the property, us and the holiday makers plus has a public liability provision. Another certificate I’m sure will be necessary in the future is the one from your air conditioning engineer regarding annual service of all air con units.  We ensure we use a properly registered engineer and have a full invoice with his tax number displayed as required under Spanish law. If we had gas appliances I would be anticipating needing to produce your invoice showing the annual service of those fixtures too, but we are all electric.

We also have a fire extinguisher, fire blanket and smoke alarms on each level.  We display our evacuation plan and provide the emergency number with a multi-lingual service.  What we cannot do is ensure that our guests actually read any of this clearly displayed information!

In addition to the information we must display, (we use the back of the front door as a notice board), we duplicate this information in the ‘house folder’ which also contains additional information on the house, the keyholders, washing machine instructions, internet access codes, TV stations, info on the area, directions to the supermarket and beach etc, bus timetables, 24 hour pharmacy, driving in Spain information, matters of personal safety, English speaking radio stations and a few other miscellaneous items.  But we know that despite saying in the welcome letter sent out before the holiday that they should read the contents of the folder, guests don’t look at it! How do we know? From phone calls, emails and text messages asking for information that is detailed in the folder! So, complying with all the rules doesn’t actually mean the guests will take notice of anything, but we must still do what is required of us.

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Is renting your house as a holiday let still a viable option? Part 3 So what do holiday-let owners need to do?

Is renting your house as a holiday let still a viable option? 

 Part 3 So what do holiday-let owners need to do?

First, this is a blog not legal advice.  Second, rules change and new additional requirements will be added over time, so this relates to summer of 2018 and Alicante region only as I understand things currently.  In fact, as I write this, a new rule for the Valencian Communidad has just come in! 

As from 9th July 2018 all new applications will first need a certificate of compatibility from the local Town Hall.  There are over 500 Town Halls and it is likely each one will set their own criteria!  I have been told my Town Hall is estimating a waiting time of 2 months, but I suspect few Town Halls would have been ready on time, generally things get organised after the requirement has started!

Inspections have finally started too, which were not set up until recently in most areas, so more waiting while you take your turn in the queue for someone to check over the property before your licence is issued.

If you don’t want a large fine, then get legal!  You can either pay one of the legal companies who do them to get it for you at a very reasonable rate or fill out the form (which can be downloaded) and submit yourself.  You can attend the offices in Alicante in person, or take the completed form and supporting documents to the post office for stamping and post it.  There is also the option of doing the process on-line, you would need to be confident of your Spanish to do this.  There is a waiting time of approximately 3 months in Alicante (on top of your wait for the Town Hall’s certificate and inspector).

Now you have your licence you will need to purchase the official plague – it is a very bright red and not very attractive!  You display this close to the entrance door either inside or outside the property.  We opted for inside as it didn’t look very weatherproof or attractive, then we had a smaller, discreet plague made for outside.  You must also buy official complaints form and put up the official notice to tell your guests they are available; both are in Valenciano and Spanish only, it is unlikely anyone would want to complete the forms in triplicate and submit them, but you must still have them.

And then you must attend your local Guardia Civil (national police) station, in person, to register with them and obtain your passwords for their on-line register of visitors.  We were one of the early applicants and when we went into the station to ask about making the appointment a confused officer asked why he would want to know who was staying in our house!  He asked another officer, and another, who both shrugged.  So we asked our solicitor to phone them and she was able to make the appointment for the following day.  It seemed that at that time not even those who had to process your application knew anything about it!  But, it transpired, there was just ONE officer appointed to this job who spoke only Spanish and appeared to have all day to do just one set of forms.  I’m told that he is still the only one at that station and has a massive waiting list for appointments.  But without your user name and password you can’t access the site and submit the guests’ details, so you can’t legally rent out.  More delays in becoming legal.

The on-line form on the Guardia Civil site requires owners to enter various passport details for all those guests over 16 years of age.  Hotels have been doing this for years but have a scanner whereas we do it manually.  We added a clause to our contract to say that refusal to provide the details required under Spanish law in advance of their arrival would be treated as a cancellation of the contract by the renter as a protection against people refusing to provide the information when they arrive – no details received then no details provided of how to access the house!  It may seem a bit brutal, but they wouldn’t get their room keys in a hotel without their ID being scanned/shown, and why would anyone refuse if they have nothing to hide from the authorities?  And why should we pay a very heavy fine for their refusal to comply with the law?  We also added GDPR info to our web site, booking form and contract to state what we would need and what will be done with the info.

So, there you have it – how to rent out legally, just don’t expect to ‘get legal’ quickly!

Bev 

www.spanishdreamproperty.com

info@spanishdreamproperty.com

www.housebythepool.com

#spain #playaflamenca #costablanca #orihuelacosta #propertyforsale #manuelhousebuddy

Renting your house as a holiday let still a viable option? part 1 how and when things changed.

Renting your house as a holiday let still a viable option?

Part 1 – How and when things changed.

Many owners of property in Spain have rented out their properties for years as a way of funding the purchase, ourselves included. But recent changes in the law regarding rentals means some are now questioning if it is still worth it. This blog relates to property in the Valencian Communidad (the provinces of Castellón, Valencia and Alicante), but nearly all of Spain’s regions require holiday lets to be registered now.

The first thought for me when compulsory registration was introduced was that not a lot was going to change. We were already legally compliant in that we declared our rental income in Spain and paid our tax (after a few allowable deductions), plus declared our rental income on our UK tax return, (we are UK residents), and as we had paid tax in Spain we rarely needed to pay tax on the rental income in the UK as well (thanks to the UK/Spain dual taxation arrangements). However, it turns out that a huge number of owners were NOT declaring their income in Spain, and maybe some were not declaring it in their home country either! So for some there was a very rude awakening with a marked reduction in rental income when they had to start paying 19% of their rentals in Spanish tax. And some have been hit with very large fines for backdated undeclared rental income too.

We registered as a holiday-let with the authorities while it was still a voluntary process, knowing it was just a matter of time before compulsory registration would be introduced in the Valencian Communidad, and the law finally changed in 2015. There was a lot of publicity about it in the English print press in Spain, on forums, in solicitors’ newsletters, on the advertising sites and various other sources. And yet still owners didn’t bother. Eventually the authorities had enough and declared that anyone advertising an unregistered let after 1st June 2018 would be heavily fined, and that included the on-line websites which carry thousands of ads, paid for by owners, that are used by those booking self-catering holidays.

At the end of May 2018 chaos ensued. More than one major advertising site took all their Valencian Communidad properties off their site, only reinstating the properties once the checking of the registration number had been completed. For us this was particularly annoying as they had had over 3 years in which to run that check, our number was already clearly entered in the property details. For other owners this was, amazingly, the first they had realised that they needed a registration number!

I won’t go into details of how to obtain a registration number here, that is covered separately, but suffice to say a system that originally was fast and efficient has become overwhelmed during the course of 2018, and I’m reliably informed that the process is now so back-logged with applications that they are taking a minimum of three months. Bearing in mind that officialdom in Spain virtually shuts down for August, I can’t see that back-logged being cleared quickly. And that is just step one! 

So, now there are owners who have decisions to make: do they register and risk drawing attention to their past illegal activity and undeclared income; do they stop renting out and lose the income; do they continue to illegally let the property and hope they don’t get caught (they will!). What a dilemma! They say ‘honesty pays’ – well it hasn’t up to now as we were worse off for being honest and declaring the income in Spain, but right now I am glad we did!

#spain #costablanca #holidayrental #selfcatering #holiday #housebythepool #playaflamenca

Have a look at House By The Pool

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Buying Property for the Costa Blanca Holiday Market

Buying Property for the Costa Blanca Holiday Market

Here at Spanish Dream Property we have experience of renting our house as a holiday let. We can help you to find the best property options if you too are looking at renting to the holiday market.

Here are Some Quotes: that people have said to us about the way we work with them.

“Thank you for listening”. “We would like to arrange all our viewings through you as you have been so helpful.” “You showed us what we wanted, not what you had to sell.”

If you are looking for a property that you will want, or need, to let to the holiday market, then please speak to us first. For over a decade we have successfully rented our own house – always fully booked for the summer plus a lot of lower season bookings.

www.housebythepool.com

We are happy to share our experiences and information regarding doing so legally. Before buying a property to rent to the holiday market you need to understand the requirements for a property to be legally let and the implications and responsibilities on the owner. There are hefty fines for letting illegally or not paying your due taxes in Spain. We are happy to answer your questions.

David & Beverley Townsend

www.housebythepool.com

www.spanishdreamproperty.com

Utilities in Spain

We are often asked about the utilities in Spain.  If you buy in a town you will almost certainly have mains water but if you have a villa on the edge of or outside the main town you may not have mains sewage but have a septic tank instead.  This surprises a lot of people but in parts of Spain this is normal.  If you buy a rural property you may not have mains water but use a private well or have water delivered by tanker to fill your huge storage tank.

 

Generally mains water is of drinkable quality these days, gone are the days when you had to buy it bottled.  To get around shortages of water there are now a number of desalination plants around the coast taking sea water and cleaning it up for local use.  There are also a number of reservoirs now that are also small hydro-electric plants.  Water supply in the Alicante region doesn’t seem to be a problem anymore.

 

Gas has until recently been bottled only in most areas but towns are slowly having mains gas installed.  Again this surprises many Brits looking to buy in Spain, and of course using bottles of gas for central heating is pretty expensive.  Using portable gas heaters is common practice and fairly economical too.  Modern air conditioning units have settings for cooling or heating and are sufficient for use in a bedroom, although not necessarily that cheap to run.

 

For many years Iberdrola were the only electricity company but in recent years de-regulation has allowed competition and there are now other options.  Also duel tariffs are available too now, so cheap electricity at night and in the morning with a slightly raised rate for the afternoon and evening means savings can be made.  Solar has come a long way too and with 320 days of sunshine a year in south Costa Blanca developers now include solar in their new build homes.

 

There are a few ‘anomalies’ that I have come across over the years.  For instance, where our house is located the water company are also responsible for collecting the rubbish so instead of the cost of rubbish collection being included in the local council tax it is added to your water bill instead!

 

 

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What is the difference between a Property Finder and an Estate Agent?

What is the difference between a Property Finder and an Estate Agent?

An Estate Agent is a business or company that lists properties to sell, taking a commission from the owners at the point of sale for the process of facilitating the sale through advertising and finding the buyer. We are all familiar with their role. There are various professional bodies who oversee and regulate the industry, in the UK that is the NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents).

So what is a Property Finder?

An estate agent works FOR the vendor (seller) so their job is to sell the house. The interests of the buyer are therefore secondary by definition. A Property Finder is someone working for the buyer, not a business interested in selling what is on their books (because they don’t actually list anything and are not answerable to a vendor), but in FINDING the right property at the right price in the right location for the client – the buyer.
As Property Finders based in the UK for Spanish property we are regulated by the AIPP, Association of International Property Finders, which in turn in the UK is also part of NAEA, so you get all the protection of NAEA plus additional protections from the AIPP.

Dave& Bev Welcome you to Spanish Dream Property

What do we do?

By working with the buyer we, as Property Finders, establish the criteria. In some cases the budget and criteria will not match the chosen location, so by working with the client a Property Finder can establish which points cannot be compromised and in which areas there may be an alternative or a compromise to bring the right property in on budget. We establish together a list of priorities, absolute must haves, definite don’t likes and desirable extras.
Every buyer has a different list of priorities so every client receives personal attention. We look in a wide area but actually know all the areas where we search. For instance, a client buying a holiday home or holiday rental investment is not particularly effected by how sort after the local primary school will be, but a family relocating will need to know school options.
A property finder is not limited to one list of properties so can assess the suitability of properties listed by a range of reputable agents as well as other sources, giving a far wider choice. The client also benefits from working closely with one person rather than constantly having to tell different agents what they want and trying to remember to whom they gave what information, especially as the criteria may evolve over time as certain considerations come to the fore.
Generally a Property Finder will also arrange viewings. In Spain it is common for vendors to use multiple agencies so if you view with four agencies you may actually be taken to see the same property several times, but if it wasn’t right the first time it won’t be right on subsequent visits either, so a complete waste of your time. When you are searching for a property in another country time is in limited supply and needs to be used wisely. You will want to view only the most suitable properties, not the ones the estate agent needs to sell regardless. ‘Viewing trips’ to see new developments can be frustrating times for buyers as they are shown what is being built regardless of whether it fits their criteria! A property finder is not interested in wasting your time or leaving you frustrated by seeing properties that would never be of consideration and don’t match your ‘wish list’.
A property Finder won’t pressure you into buying the wrong property. Our reputation relies on matching the client to the right property and making the process of buying that property as smooth as possible. In that respect we have built up good relationships with various reputable estate agents and other local professionals.

So why can’t you look for a house by yourself?

You can. But if you live in the UK and want to buy in Spain do you have enough detailed first-hand knowledge of the area, the time to check out thousands of possibilities and the patience to deal with 20 estate agents all claiming they have the best properties for you? Or would you rather let someone take you through the process of buying, checking you are aware of the actual costs involved, (buying in Spain is very different and more costly than buying in the UK), have someone talk through your requirements and priorities, asking questions about your needs and how they may change over the next few years, so that when you visit everyone has clear understanding of your preferences on styles, locations, surroundings, size, age, distance to the beach, amenities, airport etc.? Many clients find we ask questions about subjects they have not yet considered that may (and often do) influence the final choice of property.

What will it cost you?

We work for clients with all budgets and therefore will not exclude those on limited budgets. In our case we do not charge our clients anything for our service because we receive a payment from the estate agent for finding the buyer for a property they have listed. Remember for you that simply means that if we don’t find the right property for you it hasn’t cost you anything. When we do find the right property you will pay no more for that property than you would have done anyway, so it still hasn’t cost you anything but will have saved you time, frustration and probably the cost of several extra visits. Plus as we negotiate hard for a good price on the right property you may actually get it for less than you would have done if you hadn’t used our service. Plus you have a Property Finder working in the background to check on the progress of your purchase, act as a sounding board at all stages, someone who has personally been through the buying process themselves and has helped many others too – a person who is not compromised in their service to you by needing to act in the interests of a vendor. Plus, once you have purchased the property we are still around to help with questions and helping with finding professionals like electricians, plumbers, keyholders and with holiday rentals if you need such services.

REMEMBER: An Estate Agent works for the vendor. A Property Finder works only for the buyer. So who will hold YOUR interests higher?