I know this may seem like a daft question but can you buy a house in Spain for just one Euro? The reason why I ask this question is because back in the UK during the last recession of the early 1990’s you were able to snap up houses in certain parts of Newcastle and Middlesborough for just one Pound, yes I repeat, for just one Pound and I am not joking, they really were on sale for just one Pound, although the properties needed work done to them, some renovation or modernisation was required but nonetheless the properties were up for sale for just one Pound. Alas those properties are no longer on sale at such a price anymore because of the UK boom but could the same thing happen in Spain where the recession in Spain gets so bad that you could buy a house for just one euro.
Paying one euro for a house in Spain may not seem as ludricrous as it may first appear. There were numerous houses built in complexes or estates where the owners are struggling to sell because there are so many properties in the complex that are vacant or are up for sale that it makes it impossible for a vendor to sell their property in the complex and so the property is unsaleable. If a property is unsaleable, which means that the vendor could not even give it away, then that property has zero worth, it is worthless, technically speaking it is priced at zero euros. Therefore being able to buy a house for one euro may not be as far fetched at it might first appear.
Just think about it. If you could buy a house for one euro then the property sales tax (VAT) on that house, which would be around 10%, would be just 10 cents, that’s right, just 10 cents. Can you believe that, just 10 cents. One of the main things that puts me off buying a property in Spain is because of the 10% property sales tax that I would have to pay which is quite off putting. If I wanted to buy a property in Spain which was up for sale for 100,000 euros then I would have to stump up an additional 10,000 euros just to give it to the Spanish tax man which is just like throwing 10,000 euros down the drain.
Buying a house for just one Euro is probably a bit unrealistic, regardless of how bad the economy gets, but if I could buy a property in Spain for just say 1,000 euros then I would only be paying just 100 euros in property sales tax which would be great. I suppose property prices in Spain will never ever get as low as being one euro but realistically they may come down to 1,000 euros although the property may turn out to be a bit of a wreck but nevertheless a place in the sun for just 1,000 euros, that is certainly worth thinking about.
Alternatively, instead of buying a house in Spain for just one Euro or even 1,000 euros how about being able to buy a house in Spain for the price of a car. Apparently, in the United States, the state of the housing market there is so bad that you can buy a house in certain parts of the USA for the price of a car, so the question I am asking is can it happen in Spain, can you or will you ever be able to buy a house in Spain for the price of a car?
Stoke-on-Trent Council will offer families empty homes for £1 in a bid to get more properties back into use.
Under the scheme, which would be open to anyone classed as ‘economically viable’, neglected council properties sold for a nominal fee, and then, loans of up to £30,000 would be made to families. They would also receive the details of work to carry out and a list of authorised contractors to do it.
When Sweden had it’s housing crash in the 90s. This humble abode was sold for 0,08 pounds. Not in a bad shape either. They are asking for 1 million pounds now.
Great example of what happens when the financial system goes to shit.
you couldn’t get away with buying a house in spain for a knock down price and just pay the tax on what you paid for it thats the thing and one reason i am not tempted to buy yet you buy for 1000 they value it at 500’000 guess what you pay the tax on.
Thats why all these bargin properties you see reduced by 30% are not the bargins they seem as you still have to pat tax on the 30%
I have been told that in parts of Extremadura the council will give away land for free, along with planning permission as long as the buyer spends at least 6 months of the year there. I’m not sure how they enforce that but I guess the council just wants people to live there and spend money building a house, using services, etc. This has nothing to do with the crash, I was told about this during the boom years.
We sell property all over Extremadura and I don’t know of any council that gives away free land. Land is cheap here but free? – no way. And beware of a local who tells you there will be no problem in building. He’s not deliberately misleading you, many locals build without permission and only get around to registering later (and maybe not even then). That’s not usually a problem here, land is plentiful and there is no pressure on it as in other parts of Spain, so the Junta will probably grant retrospective permission, but we wouldn’t let any of our clients do that.
You need to apply for planning permission in the normal way – and then wait!
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