A guide to buying rural property in Spain

A FREE GUIDE TO RURAL PROPERTY IN SPAIN.

A lot of foreigners dream of building their own house inland, or doing up a ruin. If you do want to live in the Spanish countryside, then we recommend that you buy a plot with a house already built on it. This way you can see the roads, water pipes, electricity pipes and sewage pipes!

Meet Les Edwards, our recommended real estate agent for rural Andalusia.

If you are interested in purchasing a rural property in Spain, just fill out the form below.

The rural property in Spain where we spent out holidays!

An agricultural farm or a piece of land (finca rustica) is not classified as building land.

My nanny's father gave her a piece of agricultural farm land as a wedding present. She has applied for townhall permission to change the status of the land, but it will be 7 years before the permission to build, is given.

Some of the building plots being offered to foreigners in Spain are in fact agricultural farm land, and after the purchase of the land you may find out that you will not be permitted to build the rural property in Spain that you dreamed of after all.

If you want to buy something outside the town centres and the urbanisations, you should be aware of the following:

You have no public guarantee of services for water, roads, electricity or sewage, as you should have on an urbanisation.

A water-channel next to the land does not necessarily mean that you have any rights to use the water. Water in a well in April does not guarantee you the same well will have any water in August.

Road rights must also be mentioned in the title deed. Do not get into a situation where, after the purchase of a finca, you are forced to buy additional land for road connection.

A nearby electricity line is no guarantee that you will be able to tap it. It may be a high tension line. A transformer for only one dwelling may be too expensive.

Each region has a minimum size requirement before issuing a building permit on agricultural land. You must find this out from the town hall, and you must make absolutely sure that the plot offered has the minimum required.

Spanish people living in the countryside are different then the ones that live in town centres and urbanisations. It is very unlikely that they speak English and tend to be less �open�. It might be harder to make friends in the countryside then it is in populated areas.

It is easier and more economical to get a license to repair an existing building than to construct a new one. If you can restore an existing building, you may not need complete architect's plans, but only a sketch, to obtain a license for minor work. Consult the townhall beforehand.

Ask yourself the question: Am I the right type for living under rural conditions in the Spanish countryside? If the answer is not resoundingly affirmative, you should delay the purchase until you have become convinced. Maybe it is better to start with a small property on a planned urbanisation first, and take the step to buy a rural property in Spain after you have become more acquainted with the country.

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