Relocating to Marbella – lessons learned.

Gecko Towers

In 2002, with my wife and three kids (aged 7 and under), we decided that a home in Wandsworth, South West London and a partnership in a Mayfair law practice had passed their sell by dates and we needed a new dream.

My wife, who has been coming to the South of Spain regularly since early childhood and is a fluent Spanish speaker. So the location of our transition was fairly obvious. We’d move to the Costa del Sol.

From our direct experience, I am keen to share some lessons to assist those, like us, seeking a new and hugely rewarding, lifestyle.

After living in summer temperatures for the first three months of our new life in Spain, late autumn and winter bring a slightly different landscape. Our first house, pristine with cool between April to October with glistening floor and wall marble became an icebox. I tried not to forget that many older properties were built largely for summer time use only.

Very rarely, but snow sometimes hits Marbella!

Lesson One – If you relocate to and want to live in Marbella all year round, choose a newer property that has either under floor heating, a tiled or wooden floor rather than marble in the main reception rooms. Alternatively, buy each family member a fleece and a thick pair of socks!

Currently, servicing borrowings to purchase a property by way of a Spanish mortgage is an attractive prospect for those of you from Northern Europe and elsewhere. The Spanish financial services market is busily developing and overseas purchasers have a widening array of funding prospects.

It may be interesting to note, unlike the UK, in Spain a mortgage is secured against a property rather than against the borrower. This means that a mortgage may be transferable – subject to status – between a buyer and seller. If you do not want to assume your seller’s mortgage, it is important that your Spanish lawyer (Abogado) ensures that the mortgage debt is redeemed by your seller before you complete your purchase.

If you are a buyer seeking to fund your purchase in part with a Spanish mortgage, I would strongly recommend that you should work with a Spanish bank that have geared-up to deal with foreign buyers, in order to identify your precise capacity to borrow, prior to narrowing your property search. Would you like a Spanish Mortgage?

Please remember that you’ll need to add in the region of an additional 10% to 12% (calculated on the agreed purchase price) to cover professional fees, transfer taxes, Land Registry fees etc. Buying a property in the Marbella region – V6 – The Costs of Buying

Lesson Two: If purchasing with a mortgage is your preferred course, check your financial capacity to buy your new home before you start your property search. We have open lines to Spanish bankers willing to give you ”indicative” arrangements.

The allure of the countryside.

Many works of non-fiction in the ‘Driving Over Lemons’ market have depicted a view of Spanish rural life that is charming, quaint and stuffed full of olive oil soaked personalities who are keen to help the newcomer settle into their neighbourhood. I wouldn’t dare to suggest that this is rose tinted – it’s not – there is an honesty and grit to Spanish rural dwellers that is heart warming. However, they are used to the harshness of the conditions, the extremes of the seasons and the lack of creature comforts. Above all they speak Spanish, particularly rural Spanish. They will usually, and understandably, have little more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ grasp of English.

If your dream is to redevelop a remote and ruined finca in a more rural part of Southern Spain – and there are many little more than a few thousand metres off the main roads – you are certain to need in equal measures the following:

i. More than ‘restaurant’ Spanish.

ii. An experienced Surveyor and legal team to provide a full structural survey of the property along with recommendations to rectify any obvious failings and due diligence as to the precise planning position of your target.

iii. A bilingual Project Management team who should be retained early on in the refurbishment process to ensure that you are able to achieve the finished property that you desire. They will exercise relevant control over the builders and their progress with the aim of delivering, most importantly, on time and on budget.

These paragraphs were easy to construct, the reality of realizing your goal of a rural idyll may be overwhelmingly challenging and, however, steely your resolve it’s a far from easy route to a dream home.

Lesson Three: Learn good Spanish if your dream home is a Finca or Cortijo in the Campo (the Countryside). Don’t be led astray by overzealous promises that you can build your very own Alhambra Palace on the site of a tumble-down cattle shed – in reality it’s unlikely. Finally, if the idea appeals but the reality is just too daunting, buy a sea or mountain view apartment, villa or townhouse and drive up to the Campo at weekends and stay at one of many great Cortijo (country house) hotels!!

Beach life

Inevitably, we tend to believe that moving to a new country brings with it the need to preserve as much of your familiar world and possessions as possible. What do you need to bring with you when you relocate? The answer is, invariably, the minimum.

Moving house is still, allegedly, the second most stressful activity – next to divorce – that a family can undergo. Now imagine co-ordinating prompt and efficient removal teams to cart your furniture several thousand kilometres to your new home and then trying to fit the contents of a suburban living room with velvet or chintz into a whitewashed hacienda. It’s just not going to work. That sofa will become a roasting seat on balmy summer evenings and that brown wood cabinet will look completely out of place next to the cool cream lines of your new limed oak kitchen.

This sounds simplistic, and is not intended to offend those of our readers who have imported their finest lounge suites, it is more about developing an appropriate design to fit your new surroundings.

Don’t bring all those winter woollies “just in case” – they’ll get eaten by moths and you won’t need them anyway. Usually, in newer properties wardrobes tend to be built in so you don’t need to bring hefty wardrobes with you and as space is usually at a premium you’ll want to rationalise your clothes to lighter cottons and linen with the occasional fleece for winter days.

Lesson Four: If you can, relocate gradually, getting used to your new surroundings before filling your new Spanish home with your familiy’s treasure trove of useless, albeit, beautiful heirlooms. Move in gradually.

Following your move – a tiring experience for many – you risk immense frustration by encountering the bureaucracy of Spanish businesses. Such as Vodafone – a key supplier of telephone line, Endesa – the electricity company and Acosol – the Andalucian water company are just three of the main deliverers of stress overload for the new settler.

Nobody holds the key to the golden door when it comes to dealing with these utility companies. They are unwieldy mammoths who have tended to become complacent and only recently have they become more responsive to customer power in spite of several attempts to launch client facing Apps. The answer is to speak to them in their mother tongue – in Andalucia this means Castellano (Castilian Spanish). Your Abogado will have colleagues who can take on the drama of utility connections and they may well include this in their quote for the provision of legal services. It’s worth every single euro to do so!

Lesson Five: Let your Abogado’s experienced and fully bilingual team try to minimise these frustrations by dealing on your behalf with utilities.

Carpe Diem

If you are a “still working” relocator you will probably be looking to conduct your business as a teleworker by the use of fibre-optic internet. My impression is that the quality of the technical infrastructure is good with much of Spain benefiting from up to date fibre-optic cabling but it should be noted that there seem to be geographic limits as to where one may receive the ‘super highway’. I have to couch this carefully as no one I have spoken to seems to have been able to fully explain the system. It appears that high quality internet is unlikely to be available to a residence which is more than a few kilometres from a main road but this may be changing.

Lesson Six: If you want to continue to work and you need a great connection you’ll need to live in a more developed neighbourhood – like most urbanisations – with good and close connections to main roads.

As the Land Registry system in Spain is very well developed some Spaniards do not bother to use the services of an Abogado to handle the conveyancing or property purchasing process. Such an approach for me is simply unthinkable. I have covered this in some detail here Buying a property in the Marbella region – V4 – Due Diligence and Paperwork.

Please don’t be tempted to save the cost of responsive and good quality independent professional advice.

Choosing a lawyer needn’t be a fraught process. The recommendation of past clients is precarious, for every person who recommends a particular firm another will have a contrary view. I have worked with our colleagues Abogados for nearly twenty years and they are valuable and trusted experts in their field.

Why an experienced Marbella Abogado is, literally, worth their weight in gold! Why is Independent Due Diligence essential when buying on the Costa del Sol?

Lesson Seven: Use the services of a reputable Abogado in order to properly understand the transaction you are entering into but ensure that they are responsive to you. Always be tempted to question things you don’t fully grasp on first hearing and take notes during meetings.

A warm welcome.

I do hope we have convinced you that you’d not be wasting anytime in searching for your new lifestyle in the many wonderful corners of the Marbella region. In doing so, please know that I am here should you wish my involvement – which I hope will be early on in your search. There are an abundance of perspectives to reflect on and consider. However, I cannot tell you how many times we have heard clients saying that “I wish we’d done this years ago!”.

Should you be interested in discussing the process involved in buying a property in the Marbella region, we would be delighted to assist you. As and when you are ready to progress with your search please contact me to discuss your precise requirements.

We are not estate agents, but we know some hard-working and reputable ones, as needed.

We have a multi-disciplinary team of bi-lingual, highly experienced and wholly independent Abogados (Spanish Lawyers) and Asesores Fiscales (Tax Accountants) ready to help you.

Please note that our posts are for general interest. There is no substitute for proper advice tailored to your specific circumstances as provided by a qualified Abogado who is experienced in the application of the Spanish Law. Nothing contained in this article should be seen or taken as the writer or the publisher providing legal, tax or financial advice. All details have been reasonably fact-checked and all efforts have been taken to ensure that facts are accurate as at the date of publication.

My details: Mark FR Wilkins, during usual business hours on +34 600 343 917 or e-mail me at mark@biznagapartners.com

You may also be interested to subscribe to my interactive FaceBook Group “Costa del Sol – The Best Place to Live in Europe” – please click this link – Costa del Sol – The Best Place To Live In Europe

© Mark FR Wilkins 2024. All rights reserved.


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