PROPERTY IN SPAIN – FINCAS, ‘LAND GRAB’ AND LAND IN SPAIN

FINCA IN SPAIN

In my recent book ‘How to Move Safely to Spain’, I make the comment that if money was no object then the majority of us Britons would like to buy a property in Spain that was the Spanish equivalent of a rectory – a classy property overlooking the sea and just outside a pretty village.  Of course, this dream Spanish property would have Moorish arches, a fountain within a central courtyard, a great swimming pool and, at the very least, a couple of acres of garden!  Wonderful…

The trouble is that this type of Spanish property (a finca) along the Mediterranean coastline is extremely difficult to find and, if located, expensive to buy.  Worse still, it may be just the type of property in Spain that could be subject to the expensive terrors of ‘Land Grab’.

In fact, fincas tend to be rare along the Mediterranean coastline because the Spanish there have always traditionally lived in the villages and towns – and gone out to farm the land.  This is pretty much the opposite of the British who have always lived on their land.  In short, this is why in Britain we have so many country properties, small holdings and farmsteads and why (unwittingly) we spend our time (normally hopelessly) trying to find similar properties in Spain – (that never existed in any numbers) along the Spanish Mediterranean coastline.   

Eventually, of course, most of us give up trying to find a decent, character Spanish property in the countryside and find ourselves looking at properties on estates – most of which are comparitively new.  They are also notable for their small plots and reasonably disappointing identi-kit designed villas.  Certainly, trying to find a perfect finca in Spain (close to the Mediterranean) is  often nothing if not a disappointing affair.  Invariably, our lust for a Spanish property with land shrinks until most of us buy a villa in Spain with a 1,000m2 garden, at most.  It is a common experience.

In fact, this ‘common’ experience probably saves many people from a good deal of trouble.  Owning a property on agricultural land in Spain (Rural) is not for the faint hearted and this is particularly true of anywhere within ‘spitting’ distance of the sea.  The danger, of course, is that your property could be subject to ‘Land Grab’ as part of an urbanisation project.  Whilst this could make you fantastically rich – it could also be ruinous and blight your Spanish property for years.

Since living here, I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to Spanish property the wisest thing is to be always super-cautious when it comes to trying to buy a property in Spain with significant land.  Indeed, as I mentioned in one of my earliest Blogs (all about the designation of land in Spain) – wherever possible buy urbanizado and fully urbanizado.  This is by far the safest way to buy property in Spain.

Of course, to some extent, I still hanker after a finca in Spain .  However, common sense and numerous stories about the dangers of buying Spanish properties that are not fully urbanizado have persuaded me that nothing is more important than buying the safest type of property possible.  To my mind, too much is at stake to risk doing otherwise – even if it means compromising to buy a villa in Spain on what appears, at first, to be a ridiculously small plot.

In fact, oddly enough, most Britons I know gradually come round to the view that having a lot of land in Spain is not particularly desirable.  This has less to do with the potential legal problems than the climate.  This is glorious – but its very nature tends to make looking after anything resembling an extensive garden difficult.  If significant irrigation is not needed then plants grow (when it is naturally wet) at an astonishing rate.  You can keep this under control when you have a modest plot but anything larger can become quickly tiresome.  As a consequence, most people end up with low maintenance gardens and are pleased their plots are not larger.

It should also be said that access to wilderness or common land in Spain is remarkably easy and the Spanish (for the most part) tend to be tolerant of people walking respectfully through their land.  So, apart from the perception of greater privacy, I rather feel that a modest plot and a completely legally safe property is the answer…