We are going to tell you how to acquire a property in Barcelona

Barcelona is without a doubt one the most important and exciting cities of Europe: the multicultural environment and the diverse cultural events, the traditions and gastronomic variety, the beaches and the sea, the sport and outdoor activities favored by the warm weather, attract every day a bigger number of people from different parts of the world who have intentions of investing in the real estate field or buy a new property. 

When you take the decision of buying a new apartment without residing in Spain, you have to take in consideration some important aspects, have some specific documentation and take in consideration some essential points. First of all you have to select the zone of the city in which you want to buy. It is very important to consider which are the intentions of use given to the property, before selecting the type of apartment and location.You have to distinguish between having an apartment for personal use during your sporadic visits to the city or if your intention is to rent it. In any case it is always preferable to purchase it in the city center. The vitality and the efficiency of public transport in that area will make your saying more simple and enjoyable and will make your apart-ment rent itself faster.

After selecting the zone and calculated the amount you want to spend for the purchase of the prop-erty and to cover the related costs, you will have to decide the type of property you wish to acquire. You will have to do so through establishing an order of priorities and preferences: a big or small apartment, with one, two or more rooms, rehabilitated or not, etc. 

To count on a local agent who you can trust and is recommended is fundamental. His job will be to understand your needs, make the search easier and propose different options. 

In the end of the selection process, when you decide to purchase a specific property it is needed to follow the below mentioned steps:

1. After selecting the preferred property, is needed to formalize your selection through sending to the agency a declaration of your interest. In that moment, our agency will send you the Property Register (Registro de Propiedades), which certifies the name of the owner, the size of the property, the existence of previous credits or debts referred to the property. In this way you will avoid unde-sired surprises. During this phase you won’t have to make any sort of payment.
2. Reservation of the property. After knowing the legal situation of the property, is necessary to formally declare your interest, pre-senting an purchase offer and paying an acquisition reservation. The purchase offer specifies the economical proposal and the preferred paying option, also it states the the main duties of the seller and the purchaser (this phase will be entirely managed the real estate agency).
3. When the negotiation about the price will be successfully concluded the next step is to sign the private contract with the seller. Between buyer and seller is preferable to make a private contract until the moment of the deed comes. Often is a document where the seller declares his will of sell-ing the property to the buyer and the purchaser express his decision of buying it at a price and con-ditions previously established. In these circumstances, the buyer pays to the seller the 15% of the price agreed for the property. In Spain the common pre contract model, called ‘contrato de arras’, establishes that if the buyer would retire the offer, he would lose the previously paid 15%. In the case that it would be the seller the one stepping back, he would have to pay the double amount to the buyer.
   In very specific cases, when the sale process can be quickly concluded, point number 2 can be avoided and both parts can pass directly to the deed.
4. The last step is the notarial deed. In the presence of a notary, the buyer will pay the missing amount and the seller will hand in the property title of the apartment.
   

These are the needed documents to be presented in front of the notary: an ID document (or an offi-cial delegation document) from both parts, the seller’s original property title and the buyer’s checks. When both purchaser and seller have signed the deed, the notary will stamp his official signature. There would not be further step that paying the transaction’s taxes.

Taxes and expenses

For the buyer:

• Patrimonial transmission tax – 10%
• Notarial expenses, stamps and inscription in the Central Property Register (Registro Central de la Propiedad): between 0,5% and 2%. This might change depending on whether the property has been purchased with or without a mortgage.
• The purchase will be informed transparently, at the end of the negotiation phase, about the total amount of taxes, before the signature of the pre-contract.

For the seller:

• A local tax named ‘plusvalia’ (in some case both parts decide that the buyer should pay it). With a copy of the act, the seller should go to the municipal offices. After filling the needed documents and forms, he will receive by mail the exact amount to be paid. The amount is calculated in base of the years of ownership of the property and the real value of the property determined by the Property Register.
• The seller will also have to take care of the administrative expenses needed to cancel precious debts if necessary (mortgage, community debt, etc.)

Real estate agencies in Catalonia

In Catalonia exists an official register of real estate agents (AICAT), through which every agent that wants to work in the profession in his city will have to certify his capabilities and present a civil responsibility form. As a professional real estate agency, Casc Antic BCN has its own registration number (n. 3272) in order to be able to offer to its clients a bigger guarantee of confidence and credibility, especially for those international clients who need an official protection in the real estate market jungle. Real estate agencies in Spain charge its costs to the sellers, buyers won’t have to pay any commission to the agency for purchase operations. The buyer has the possibility of asking spe-cial services before and after the purchase. Examples of those services are: assistance to obtain a NIE (Spanish identification number for foreigners), to open a Spanish bank account or to ask for a loan. Also, we offer bureaucratic management after the purchase (for example change the person entitled to pay services like water, electricity or gas) and project making for small and big refor-mations of the properties, interiors design, furniture especially made for the needs of the person requiring the service, etc.

Documents to be handed by the seller to the purchaser:

• Property title.
• Note issued by the Property Central Register.
• I.B.I. (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles).
• Certificate of payment regularity issued by the community administrator.
• Habitability certificate.
• Energetic certificate.

Documents needed to be handed in by the buyer:

Catalan bureaucracy is relatively fast and efficient, but it could be complicated for the international buyer. For that reason our agency, Casc Antic BCN S.L., offers the necessary assistance to obtain the needed documents and, in this way, match the conditions to acquire a property.

• N.I.E. (Spanish foreigner’s identification number). It can be obtained through the immigration office of Barcelona, which is a police station. To obtain a N.I.E, is necessary to present the pass-port and fill an assigned form. If it not possible to present it personally, it is possible to formally delegate a person to deal with the process.
• Agency service: assistance during the entire process of obtaining the N.I.E. (optional).
• Open a Spanish bank account. This requisite will serve to transfer money to buy the property from an account external to Spain. This step will have to be personally fulfilled by the buyer.
• Registration of the title deed. It has to be done through the Register Office. Usually the notary’s office in which the deed is signed takes care of this step.

Buy to Rent in Barcelona

Barcelona is a constant attraction pole for the youth, students, workers and tourists coming from Spain and form different parts of the world. One of the main reasons of this effect is due to its stra-tegical geographical position and that it is Spain’s second biggest city. Thanks to its warm weather, Barcelona is taking from Amsterdam the position as European gay capital, being one of the most gay friendly cities in the world. Barcelona is definitely a city of contrasts and continuous change: its cultural activities, universities, sport events, touristic attractions, night life, beach and good weather are only some of the many reasons to choose this city to buy a new property or do an investment.
The demand of apartments to rent is really high, specially in the central zones which are well con-nected by public transportation. This demand has maintained the income in between a 4,4% and 6% of the property’s value.

Casc Antic BCN has specialized itself in the assistance of owners of properties to rent. We choose the perfect tenant, we ask for all the needed references to guarantee the tranquility of the owners. We also offer a service of domestic reparation and maintenance.

With our experience we will be able to advice you on when, where and how to buy an apartment with the intentions to rent it in the city center of Barcelona.

It is important clarify some points:

• The growing demand of apartments to rent is localized in the neighborhoods of the city center of Barcelona, especially in Ciutat Vella (the old town) which attracts young people from all over the world for its fervent cultural and social life and its very close position to the beach.
• When an apartment is put to rent it is always convenient to show it furnished, completely equipped, recently painted and clean, ready to be inhabited. It is important since, if the apartment is in good conditions, the tenants will be better. We will in this way be able to rent the property faster and argue better in favor of its value.
• We have a very low error risk, the profile of tenants our company chooses y the precautions we take allows us to confirm it.
• The selling prices of the properties have gone down approximately a 40% after the real estate boom which took place in Spain between 1995 and 2007.
• If you choose us, you won’t have to pay any commission to our company to rent your apartment. All the costs of localization will be in charge of the new tenants.
• When we manage the rental of your property, we are able to rent it even faster, through the publi-cation and positioning of the announces in the most important Spanish portals:

Real estate investments in Barcelona

Barcelona, capital of Catalonia, thanks to its constant growth it has become one of the most im-portant economical epicenters of Europe, it really is a good city for business. Because of its privi-leged position in the Mediterranean coast, together with its big attention to innovation and techno-logical development which is characteristic of the Catalan identity, has been selected in 2008 to host the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat and, in the same year, has been selected as the 4th most important city for business after London, Paris and Frankfurt (according to Crushman and Wakefield’s European Cities Monitor, in September of 2008). It has also been se-lected as the second best city in the world to arrange international congresses (according to row International Congress & Convention Asoc.).
Barcelona is without a doubt a young city because of its initiative toward the future. Money invest-ed in this city can create high satisfaction levels for a wide number of reasons. We leave here ten of them, which were published in the official page of the Barcelona’s Municipality:

1. Privileged position. Barcelona is the door of access to the South of Europe, in the middle of an Euroregion which is economically emergent, capital of the Mediterranean area, bridge to the North of Africa and platform of connection with Latin America.
2. Accessible and connected with other countries. With a new intercontinental airport, a harbor in constant expansion (Mediterranean harbor leader) and terrestrial connections through railroads and European road net.
3. Engine of an wide, dynamic and varied economical area. With a big industrial tradition and a wide business network, Barcelona points to an intense economic activity based on research and par-ticularly in advanced services and the new economy.
4. Success in international investments. Catalonia hosts approximately the 25% of the foreign investment in Spain. Barcelona concentrates more than 3300 foreign companies established in Cata-lonia, approximately a 90% of the total of them.
5. Big future projects. Barcelona is nowadays passing through a big process of historical transfor-mations, with important public investments and bigger opportunities for private entrepreneurship.
6. National and international human capital. Barcelona hosts some of the best economical schools of Europe and first level universities in the international field. This makes easies the process of creating and attracting talents. Study in Barcelona is a success guarantee.
7. Wide real estate offer. Barcelona has a large number of offices, commercial local and commer-cial buildings available at very competitive prices and very high quality standards. For its attributes, the city attracts everyday people from many parts of the world.
   Even after passing through, as the rest of Europe, the big real estate crisis of 2007, which produced a price drop of a 40%, the city has found a way of reacting to it. Thanks to its economical activity, Barcelona has been able to raise the level of real estate investments in the city center area, where the rental or in sell properties demand is very high. Especially from the part of students, researchers and business people who choose to live in this part of the city. Today, the number of real estate op-erations in the city center is growing again, in the same way that Barcelona attracts every day more international investors. The possibility of acquiring properties at convenient prices, if compares to those of the other European capitals, is real.
8. Cooperation between public and private. The Barcelona model, recognized at an international level, it has been developed thanks to its perfect cooperation between the public and private sector.
9. Excellent life quality. Barcelona is a city to work and live. A city that, besides the warm weath-er, which is sunny the entire year, offers a wide selection of cultural and commercial opportunities, a modern health system accessible to everybody, a safe and efficient public transport, a Mediterra-nean lifestyle and an urban environment with peculiar characteristics.
10. Worldwide recognized prestige. Different studies and statistics made by independent interna-tional organisms indicate the primacy of Barcelona as a world capital.

Our Services

Complete assistance:

Casc Antic BCN S.L. is our real estate agency in Barcelona. It will guide you and advice you until the purchase process will be a complete success. The knowledge we have of the real estate market of the city allows us to offer you the best service if you have the intention of buying a property as an investment or second home, if you are thinking to move permanently to Barcelona. We are spe-cialized in the international sellers and buyers market and our commercial agents will be able to help you in the local languages, Spanish and Catalan, and also in English, French and Italian.

Design:
We can offer you, thanks to our associate architects, the reformation of you apartment and the com-plete decoration of your recently acquired property.
We can present you different design alternatives to renovate, refresh and modernize the property you purchased. We will take care of the works and hand it back to you in perfect conditions, ready to be inhabited and rented.

Bureaucratic procedures:
Bureaucratic procedures represent without a doubt a difficult obstacle when there is an intention of buying a property, especially form abroad. Our lawyers can simplify visibly this process and you relation with the Spanish public administration.

Legal and fiscal assistance:
If you desire it, at any moment you can contact with the lawyers who cooperate with our agency. They can explain you the legal requirement for purchase operation and solve your doubts about this sort of procedures.

Notary:
We count with the availability of a prestigious notary office of Barcelona, in this way we can guar-antee to our clients the highest level of security in legal terms and personalized assistance at the moment of signing the contract and the deed for the property acquired.

Acquired property rentals:
Through Casc Antic BCN S.L., our real estate agency in Barcelona, we offer the best services to rent your property acquired as an investment. We have all the needed experience and tools to ensure a rental with the best tranquillity, safety and regularity in the payments guarantee.

Apartment Management and Administration

This department is designed to offer a full service to owners of properties dedicated to rent, making in this way its management easier (payments, solving various problems, maintenance, etc.). This service allows the owner of a property to rent it even if living outside of Spain.

This service has a cost of a 6% (+ IVA) of the monthly rent. In this way we take care of all the prob-lems that could occur, giving to the owner and insurance of tranquillity.