Hi torrenter

Welcome to EP/OA!

There are lots of property agencies, willing to offer a complete service, and most charge 5%. Along with various taxes etc - this adds up to 10% of the purchase price when buying. Is this normal? For inexperienced English speakers - is this the wisest option?

My advice is to conduct your purchase independently, choose your property rather than your agent and appoint your own lawyer to handle the sale. Remember an agent's lawyer is looking after the interests of the agent. Still allow up to 10% though on top of the purchase price.

We are looking for a bungalow with garden, in the south-east, but away from the coast - hopefully in a village, where we can integrate with Canarians. Is this realistic?

Get Googling and you'll soon find out!

We want to take our car - a 2-year-old Ford Mondeo Diesel - is this realistic? It offers a way to get essential possesions over to Tenerife at minimal cost, surely?

Forget the car. By the time you've paid to get it over and the huge taxes involved in changing the number plates, you could have paid for the transport of your possessions a few times. And, in my opinion, it's dangerous driving a right hand drive on the right hand side of the road. You don't see many British registered cars driving around in the Canaries. Sell it and buy there.

Will we be able to find a suitable property in a week? How long should we stay for our 'property-finding' visit?

No. That's why you're going to find your property, along with a number of others on the internet before you go out there, so you arrive with your shortlist ready to view. A week will be ample but always allow time for viewing one or two additional properties you identify when you're over.

Good luck!

@bawbee: Thank you for your comments, so far.

If I've gathered one thing above others when looking at buying in Tenerife, it's the difficulty of ploughing through the red tape and multitude of laws and pitfalls. How, precisely could I go about the process without using an agency; which promises a 'door-to-door' service? If I use the agency to find and initiate the sale, can I not use my own Tenerife lawyer as part of that process? I understand your point about going for the property as a priority, as 'exclusive agency deals' seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

The problem I've found with pre-selecting properties on the internet is:

1 ) You cannot be sure if they are out-of-date or not in most cases
2 ) The up-to-date sites deal almost exclusively in holiday-rental investment apartments/complex housing in tourist resorts. This is not the kind of property we are looking for.

If you have some links to current sites that have proven trustworthy - please post them

I would love to take a month or two to look for properties, but it's damned expensive for 2 people to stay on the Island, and our investment income will not be released until we move. To be honest, getting our 'foot in the door' with a less-than-ideal, but marketable property allows us to either move up, or give up, after a couple of years without compromising ourselves irrevocably. Obviously, there's a balance here; a crappy place will make up give up, but an unmarketable, but ideal place would close down our options.

Your comments on the advisibility of taking the car are a little confusing. We plan to take only a cars-worth of goods when we move, Driving to Cadiz, then taking the ferry seemed like a good idea. If we ditch the car after 6 months (not even try to sell it for a good price - I don't mean dump it :-) ), the financial hit will be ~£3000. What is the financial hit of registering it with TF plates? BTW, I have no problem with RHD cars - my last car was a LHD Golf, which I drove in the UK for 3 years or so. We're not planning to drive to Masca every day anyway :-) Perhaps selling it in mainland Spain may be more successful? Or even driving back to the UK after 6 months and selling it then? By then, its main job will be done (getting us/stuff there, and having transport during the first, crucial 6 months)

I live in the south of Tenerife and I see tuns of UK reg cars around. I also have a friend who has just made the journey in his car. Apparently the ferry from Cadiz is a bit erm basic!

As for using lawyers, that's fine. you can still buy from a one stop shop and do your own financial stuff. If you are using a one stop shop they can do all the leg work after your return to the UK. They are trustworthy. That's what we did. If you do it yourself expect to make many flights over just to sign a piece of paper or a document. There plenty of agents that sell homes that are not targeted at the " buy to rent" market. (I'll PM you some of my contacts if you wish)

I'm a little concerned about you not wanting to rely on "The Ex-pat community" when you already are - on here! You will find that you can exist in a traditional canarian style, but when the going gets tough (especially as you cant hablo Espaniol) you will need to rely on us lot just a little.

I live in the south of Tenerife and I see tuns of UK reg cars around. I also have a friend who has just made the journey in his car. Apparently the ferry from Cadiz is a bit erm basic!

I guess it's what I want to hear :-)

As for using lawyers, that's fine. you can still buy from a one stop shop and do your own financial stuff. If you are using a one stop shop they can do all the leg work after your return to the UK. They are trustworthy. That's what we did. If you do it yourself expect to make many flights over just to sign a piece of paper or a document. There plenty of agents that sell homes that are not targeted at the " buy to rent" market. (I'll PM you some of my contacts if you wish)

I'd appreciate that.

I'm a little concerned about you not wanting to rely on "The Ex-pat community" when you already are - on here! You will find that you can exist in a traditional canarian style, but when the going gets tough (especially as you cant hablo Espaniol) you will need to rely on us lot just a little.

I meant no insult. It's a language thing - I just know that I'll be too lazy to learn it properly if I hang about in ex-pat bars to much when I get there :-)

We've been here a year and a half and were picking up Spanish fast now. Its not as hard as I first expected.

You can keep your car on its UK plates for 6 months, but many people do it for longer! Matriculation of your car can be done for you by one of the handful of English run Garages that offer this service. If you decide to off load it, there is a garage called MotorWorld that buys and sells UK plated cars. Handy for people who are going back to blighty.

I'll PM you some web addressees and phone numbers for estate agents that have rural properties in the south on Monday when I'm back at work and have access to my diary. I'm sure you can obtain your dream Canarian rural home via the normal channels and avenues.

If you do it yourself expect to make many flights over just to sign a piece of paper or a document.

Why?

Unless he signs power of attorney to a fiscal representative he will have to attend (At least twice) for his NIE, and all the other numerous documentation for the purchase of his house etc.

Can that not all be done in a few days? I came over, went into lawyers the next day, handed over passports, they obtained NIEs, signed the next day, moved in furniture in next couple of days and Bawbee's your uncle!

Even if things have changed and people like lawyers can't get NIEs quickly, why is there a need for "many" flights?

Hi Torrenter,

The 8-10% average on top of the purchase price is nothing to do with the agents fees. This 10% is made up of a 6% government transfer tax paid directly to the Hacienda (tax office). The remaining % is for local fees and taxes such as the notary fees which work on a sliding scale determined by the area of land sold, the size of the house and its price. Typically the cost of the notary can vary between 300 to 600€. Also there are property registry fees again which could be between 300/600€. The cost of a solicitor would also come from the 10% and that average would be 1-1.5% depending on how much work they carry out. This is the norm so even if you did proceed to buy independently you are still liable for the 6% transfer tax as well as the notary fees and local taxes and/or solicitors fees etc. This leads on to question of buying without an agent.

I would advise against Bawbees suggestion of buying without an agent especially as you are a first time buyer. Buying direct is ok if you are familiar with Spanish/ Canarian property purchase system and have a half-decent command of the language (as Bawbee does). In the first instance, how would you approach a vendor? If it is an inland property that you are looking for, the chances are that the vendor will be Canarian so there will be an immediate language barrier and that's only the start of the possible problems of buying independently. There are many instances of people trying to 'save' money but in reality it could end up costing dear.

I don't think 5% commission (and it is sometimes less) is unjustified for a full service facility. You are using the agents' knowledge of the legal buying process and their knowledge of the properties that would be suitable to YOU. If they cant offer you the property that suits in the location you want then find another agent with more suitable and available properties. You can do most of your research over the Internet while in the UK as a precursor to coming out to Tenerife. I would suggest looking for the desired area first and then looking for a property in that specific area. It will save you a lot of time and hassle if you know where to concentrate your search. I take on board what you say about some 'out of date info' on agents web sites but they will still give you an idea of markets values etc and what you would be expecting to pay for certain properties in certain areas. Most will have a 'rural properties' or 'other areas' selection on their sites and it would be an idea to familiarise yourselves to where these areas are in relation to the main resorts. However, nothing beats jumping in the car and having a drive around to get the 'feel' for an area. The type of property that you are looking for DOES exist and you will probably have a selection to choose from. The most successful property-hunting trip will be based on research, research and more research.

I do agree with Bawbee regarding the car situation and it would be good to have it for the first 6 months while you established yourself but would you really want to drive it back to the UK to sell on? If you sold it here in Tenerife you would get peanuts for it. Why do you not consider buying a Spanish plated car in the UK and driving it down here and keeping it?

on the car.
how do you sort insurance on a english plate ?

I would advise against Bawbees suggestion of buying without an agent

Sorry, if I confused. I said...........

choose your property rather than your agent

What I meant by that was to identify suitable properties first - this will THEN lead you to the agent who is selling the property, rather than go to an agent and say "Find me a property". Certainly, I would always advise using an agent and a lawyer otherwise it's impossible to go through the process.

have a half-decent command of the language (as Bawbee does).

On the car, I still say it's cheaper to sell your car in the UK, ship over your stuff and buy a new one in the Canaries. And much safer! Have you looked at shipping costs? "Essential possessions" which will go into a car may cost you less than you think.

Thomodeb,

The normal car insurance that you would get from the UK is ok to use here, but bear in mind that any insurance company will only cover the vehicle/driver for a maximum of 90 consecutive days in any one European country other than where the insurance was contracted.
After 90 days here you would need to contract another policy on the car which you can do here.

SPOOK
but can you get insurance after the nighty days on english number plates ?

spook
is there a suzuki dealer in tenerife and how are the prices.
my wife is going out to live there in november and i want to by her a car

Lots of good information, so far - thanks, people!

Another question: What are my chances of broadband access? Is it restricted to large towns only?

Thomodeb,

Yes you can get insurance after 90 days with english plates. If you want a company recommendation PM me.

There are 2 Suziki dealerships in Santa Cruz and two service centers in the south. http://info.suzuki.es/reddeventas/index.php will give you the addresses and if you click the 'automoviles' link at the top right of the page it will give you the range and prices. I dont know how they comare to uk prices as I work in estate agency but I'm would expect them to be cheaper here.

Torrenter,

Telephone connections are not just limited to the large towns. However, the more isolated the location the less chance there is that you will get a connection.

I have to say I agree with Spook with regard to the purchase of your property. The 5% you talk about for agency fees normally applies to the vendor of the property and not to the buyer. Always better to clarify that with the Agent however. If, as you say you only have 1 week to purchase a property, which in my opinion is not very long at all, let the Agent do the work for you. Tell them what you are looking for and where and try to be as specific as possible. Be realistc about what properties you can find within your price range. Never buy a property without using a reputable lawyer and never pay monies directly to the Agent.

Regarding the car, I have to disagree. Transferring plates over can be very costly. It's true that if you wanted to sell your left hand eventually, you would in fact get peanuts for it.

Good luck

Have you thought about renting for a period whilst you settle in. If you buy in a week, which sorry to say seems too fast, you may love the area at first but then find more things you dislike and then you are stuck!

If you rent for say upto 11 months, you then have plently of time to explore the areas you like, make notes, ask questions, and then when you are ready look at property in that area, contact the owners or agents. Don't worry about the cost of rental because although agents charge fees on top of the price a seller wants when selling a property, everything is negotiable. Especially if, as it appears you will be buying a re-sale and not an off-plan property. So, when you are ready to buy, you can put in an offer for a place and deduct at least the amount you have paid in a rental. If, after a year you feel you know enough to go it alone without an agent, then the saving will be even higher. However, do not be quick to knock agents because they have to earn a living and after a year, you will surely know good agents from bad. For example, if you rent through an agent you can keep a track on how they act for you over the rental period.

Regarding NIE certificates, please anyone correct me if I am wrong but I was led to believe that you have to actually go to the police station in person now and that you cannot give power of atterney to anyone for this?

danzacurt and sunnysenorita, I completely agree with your advice. Re NIE numbers, I have heard that you no longer are given/need the card for these, perhaps someone can confirm this for me?