In
an earlier newsletter I talked about how to negotiate for land in Spain
but this week I want to talk about how the land market works.
All
local authorities establish a minimum plot size to permit the building
of a family home. This is in theory based on the amount of land needed
to support a family. In a productive, well watered, area it could be
5,000 m2 but in areas of poor soil, climate and with a shortage of water
the minimum plot allowed for the construction of a home is often 25,000
m2 and I have heard of 50,000 m2 being the minimum.
The significance of these figures is that pieces of land below this minimum amount cannot be separated or segregated from a larger plot. So whilst you might want a couple of hundred m2 for parking or a pool and the owner might be delighted to sell it to you he cannot legally do so.
In addition to not being able to sell less than the minimum build plot, ant segregation must ensure that all the plots meet the minimum size. So in an area where 25,000 m2 is the minimum, if a seller has 45,000 m2 he cannot sell 25,000 m2 because the remaining plot will only be 20,000 m2.
Plots
do exist legally below the minimum size because they pre date the
current rules and these have no potential building value. As such they
are (depending on productivity) an excellent buy for agricultural
or other purposes. Furthermore if you are able to put a couple of plots
together you get a building plot and that has it's own value.
I am aware that in many areas, in response to the excesses of the boom, there is a total ban on any new building in the campo (countryside). How long that will last for I do not know but in the short term you should be extremely careful about buying to build as permission will be hard to impossible to obtain. However a buildable plot still has an additional "hope value" that derives from the fact that in Spain nothing is concrete or indefinite!
My biggest surprise by the way is the number of people who say they want lots of land without spelling out why! If you want to be self sufficient and grow your own 50,000 m2 of secano (dry) land is pretty pointless whereas 10,000 or even 5,000 will give you a better living. And with Spain being so mountainous there are plenty of huge plots where most of the land is steeply sloped and the actual usable amount is tiny.
The moral is that you can buy land, just be aware of the rules and think hard about what you want it for because not all land is equal.
http://www.tickle-international-property.com/
Email: bill.tickle@tickle-international-property.com
All
local authorities establish a minimum plot size to permit the building
of a family home. This is in theory based on the amount of land needed
to support a family. In a productive, well watered, area it could be
5,000 m2 but in areas of poor soil, climate and with a shortage of water
the minimum plot allowed for the construction of a home is often 25,000
m2 and I have heard of 50,000 m2 being the minimum.The significance of these figures is that pieces of land below this minimum amount cannot be separated or segregated from a larger plot. So whilst you might want a couple of hundred m2 for parking or a pool and the owner might be delighted to sell it to you he cannot legally do so.
In addition to not being able to sell less than the minimum build plot, ant segregation must ensure that all the plots meet the minimum size. So in an area where 25,000 m2 is the minimum, if a seller has 45,000 m2 he cannot sell 25,000 m2 because the remaining plot will only be 20,000 m2.
Plots
do exist legally below the minimum size because they pre date the
current rules and these have no potential building value. As such they
are (depending on productivity) an excellent buy for agricultural
or other purposes. Furthermore if you are able to put a couple of plots
together you get a building plot and that has it's own value.I am aware that in many areas, in response to the excesses of the boom, there is a total ban on any new building in the campo (countryside). How long that will last for I do not know but in the short term you should be extremely careful about buying to build as permission will be hard to impossible to obtain. However a buildable plot still has an additional "hope value" that derives from the fact that in Spain nothing is concrete or indefinite!
My biggest surprise by the way is the number of people who say they want lots of land without spelling out why! If you want to be self sufficient and grow your own 50,000 m2 of secano (dry) land is pretty pointless whereas 10,000 or even 5,000 will give you a better living. And with Spain being so mountainous there are plenty of huge plots where most of the land is steeply sloped and the actual usable amount is tiny.
The moral is that you can buy land, just be aware of the rules and think hard about what you want it for because not all land is equal.
http://www.tickle-international-property.com/
Email: bill.tickle@tickle-international-property.com
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