Tips for buying property in the Balearic Islands

Nowadays many people can make their dream of a property in Ibiza come true.

Thanks to good flight connections, the “isla blanca” can be reached quickly and the sun shines even in winter, when it hardly gets light in the north. No matter if romantic finca, modern luxury villa or simple apartment, Ibiza’s real estate market offers everything your heart desires.

However, once the dream property has been found, one should not switch off one’s critical mind before signing a sales contract. Especially when buying a property in Ibiza, where many people are not familiar with the legislation or the language, you should seek the advice of an independent professional, not the self-proclaimed corner bar owner who has given you the last beer and boasts of 20 years of island experience.

The following is a brief outline of what you should look out for when buying a property in Ibiza: The first thing to check is whether the owner is even registered in the land register.  This may seem strange to some readers, but unlike in other European countries, the purchase of a property in Spain does not necessarily have to be notarised and entered in the land register.

For reasons of legal security, we strongly advise every buyer to choose the path of notarial certification and to have the title of ownership entered in the land register when purchasing a property.

Furthermore, when looking at the land register, one should pay attention to the description of the property. Is my dream finca, for which I pay a lot of money, with everything that belongs to it, listed in the land register? Are the property area, living space, pool, garage, etc. correctly registered? Or is the finca possibly described as dry land with trees and a ruin on it? And are there perhaps only 5,000 m² in the land register instead of 20,000 m² of land? If the entry is not only insignificantly wrong, one should consider whether the seller should not make the time and cost-intensive correction of the entry, if at all possible. Another point that can be clarified by looking at the land register is the question of existing encumbrances. Do rights of way exist in favour of other properties? Will I therefore have to tolerate the neighbour driving over my property in future? Or has a creditor of the seller possibly registered a priority notice in the land register because of a debt? If such entries are not deleted before the notarised deed of sale is signed, the buyer may get into a lot of trouble because he may be held liable. In addition to checking the land register, it is always worth taking a look at the land register. The cadastral office in Spain is a separate register independent of the land register, with the consequence that the entries in both registers often differ from each other. Often, previous owners or – in the case of rural properties – huge original plots of land, which have long since been divided up, are still registered in the cadastre, which can cause difficulties in determining the property boundaries and paying the annual property tax.

Unfortunately, checking the land register and cadastre is not always enough. There are some special features to be taken into account for new buildings. When buying an apartment, it is advisable to clarify whether the seller has always paid his contributions to the condominium owners’ association, as the new owner is liable for any outstanding debts.

In addition to what has been said so far, you should also find out exactly what costs and taxes are incurred in connection with the purchase of a property: Land transfer tax, notary costs, costs for registration in the land register, possibly Plusvalia (municipal increment value tax), to name only the most important.

If you are well informed before buying a property, this is of course never a guarantee that you will not have problems with your dream house at some point. However, the risks can be significantly minimized if you obtain competent legal advice from a lawyer.