24
24
the Olive Press June 11th - June 24th 2015
Property
www.theolivepress.es
the Olive Press June 25th - July 9th 2015
Tired and over-taxed
Fee free, international payments
BRITISH property owners are finally starting to receive refunds, almost a year after Spain changed a discriminatory policy on inheritance tax for foreigners. Up until the European Court of Justice’s ruling last September, Spanish residents paid 1% inheritance tax, while expats were charged up to 35%. Despite being promised refunds, the expats saw no results all year, forcing many to sell property both in Spain and England. Finally, the government has started to pay up, although the promised average amount of €25,000, property owners have reported receiving closer to €10,000.
for personal and business transfers
EQUALITY: For expats
Green house The ‘home of the future’ that churns out more energy than it uses
EFFICIENT: Home
THE first home to produce more energy than it uses has been built in the UK by a Spanish architect. Dubbed the ‘home of the future’ the house is built out of solar panels and utilises a number of energy storage systems and insulation techniques. For every €144 of electricity the house uses it will push approximately €251 worth of energy back into the grid. “This home could easily be the model for green homes of the future,” said project manager Phil Jones. tenants have been pres“It is a massive step to consured to sign new conserving energy.” tracts that would push Constructed in Cardiff, them out of their homes in Wales, in just 16 weeks, the the event of a sale. three-bedroom house was the As many as 70 families had brainchild of Spaniard Ester already been issued evicComa-Bassas. tion notices, but Carmena Originally from Madrid, has overturned those orComa-Bassas developed her ders and moved to protect green ‘solcer’ house at the the remaining families University of Cardiff alongfrom similar orders. side colleague Jones.
Carmena comes through PostOffice.co.uk/internationalpayments The International Payment Service is provided by Moneycorp. Moneycorp is a trading name of TTT Moneycorp Limited: Registered in England: No. 738837. Incorporated in 1962, Money Laundering Regulation (MLR) registration No. 12114128. VAT registration No. 897 3934524. Registered Office: 2 Sloane Street, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 9LA. TTT Moneycorp Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for the provision of payment services. Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 2154540. Post Office and the Post Office Money logo are registered trade marks of Post Office Limited.
MADRID’S new left-wing mayor Manuela Carmena has moved to prevent the repossession of more than 2,000 social rental properties. Since 2012, Madrid’s social housing body has tried to sell the public housing blocks to private investors. Throughout the process,
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by Tancrede de Pola
HEN taking out a mortgage it is a good idea to know what you’re getting yourself into. It is not uncommon for people to be shocked and surprised when so-called ‘hidden fees’ arise without warning. At the Finance Bureau, we have taken the step to inform all our clients about what fees to expect down the line. And I strongly believe that it is integral to the broker-client relationship to be honest and upfront about costs from the get-go. Equally the Finance Bureau does not take any payment from a client until the mortgage process has reached completion… we effectively work for free until a client gets the deal they want. This also rings true of the fees I am about to outline, all of which are levied at completion (apart from the valuation fee). This (valuation) fee is only requested after your application has been fiscally approved. The cost is dependent on the value of the property, but is usually around 0.01% or between €300 and €1,000. The remaining fees are payable on completion at the notary and consist of: Bank opening fee: this will
Beware the hidden fees
The pathway to finding the mortgage for you can be littered with nasty surprises. Mortgage expert Tancrede de Pola reveals all to put the client in the know be paid directly to the bank and the charge ranges from 0.75% and 1.5% of the mortgage amount, subject to negotiations. Generally speaking the more properties included in the deal, i.e., when we are packaging an entire development, the more chance there is of negotiating a lower percentage fee. Next up, the AJD standing for Actos Juridicos Documentados, or (more simply put) stamp duty tax. This works out as 1.5% of the total amount repayable and therefore the actual fee is somewhat nearer to 2.5% of the loan amount. The only way of reducing this is by taking the loan over a shorter term as the total interest paid will be lower. It is important to know that at notary, the purchase and mortgage are considered separate entities. In other words there will be a notary, gestoria and land registry charge for both.
This means that the notary will need to draw up a title deed/escritura with a gestoria (who calculates the correct taxes and other costs to be included in the title). These notary costs vary depending on the length of the escritura, type of property, location, etc. Generally, expect to pay €400-600 for the gestoria, a similar amount for the land registry and, you guessed it, €800 -1200 (dependent on the mortgage amount) to the notary for drawing up the title deed. Again, one other thing to mention is insurance. As a condition of the loan, banks will usually require the client to take out building or life insurance, or in some cases both. It is compulsory to keep the insurance for a year; if it is then cancelled the bank reserves the right to raise the interest rate charged by up to 0.5%.
To contact Tancrede for all your mortgaging needs call 666 709 743 or email: tdp@thefinanacebureau.com