Buying a Spanish Finca
The Spanish word for farm or smallholding is finca. However, a Spanish finca can be several things, from a large country estate to a small rural property.
Generally though it refers to a small country property, and these are very much sought after by foreign buyers.
Twenty years ago, Spanish fincas could be bought for very little but in recent years the interest in them has grown, therefore the prices have risen dramatically.
There are several reasons why someone would wish to buy a Spanish finca, not least of which is the peace and quiet, away from the hustle of the coastline.
Some may buy a finca because of their desire to keep animals and a finca usually offers the space to do this.
Or maybe someone needs the land to create a small commercial growing business, or just grow their own fruit or vegetables.
When considering a Spanish finca you may face problems with domestic supplies such as water and electricity. Many properties of this type have neither, or may have a well for the water supply and the new owner would be responsible for installing these supplies.
If the supplies are nearby, permission and installation is usually a formality so is not generally a problem.
Generally, if there is already a building on the land (even a ruin), permission is granted to either renovate it or demolish it, to be replaced by a new building.
If there is no building when you purchase the land permissions can be harder to obtain, usually a minimum of 10,000m2 is required to build on rustic land, depending on how the local council (Ajuntamiento) have zoned the land.
Bear in mind that there may be many family owners of the property, so a roomful of people at the NOTARIO is not uncommon. However, this is not generally a problem as they all want their money at the end of the day!
One thing is for sure though: if you do buy a finca you will enjoy the real Spanish finca way of life in the countryside, and you will find it very different from life on the costas. Perhaps it is the life for you?
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