The Ultimate Homes Blog

Until recently gas boilers installed in homes in Spain had to have mandatory annual preventative maintenance, but new legislation passed in April 2013 means that this will now only be necessary every two years. If you thought this would mean you’d save money, read on to find the loopholes in the new law. What Has Changed? Some people have their gas boiler maintenance contracted with the manufacturer, whilst others opt for their gas supplier or directly with a maintenance company. Either way you’ll normally be paying an amount that covers a single annual check-up with breakdowns being charged separately. The change in legislation, which means that the rest of Spain now applies the same 2-year maintenance rule as the Basque Country, has been met by silence by most companies. This makes sense (for them!) as they would lose out on this lucrative market. However, the legislation is also at fault as it leaves it up to manufacturers to cite in their manuals how often maintenance should be ...

Andreu Mas- Colell, the counselor for the economy in Catalonia announced yesterday that the ITP (Capital Transfer) Tax on the purchase of resale property in Catalonia will rise from 8% to 10%. The measure will come into force on the 1st of August of this year (2013)  and is aimed at increasing the revenues from this tax by 150 million euros annually. One of the ways that Mas-Colell justified the rise was that the tax was below the level of VAT (10%) and of the rates of similar taxes in other regions in Spain. There are some important concessions, the lower rate of between 5-7% will be maintained for large families (couples with three children), buyers under 32 years of age, the disabled and purchases of listed property (Vivienda de Protección Oficial). Mas-Colell has assured taxpayers that there will be no further tax changes until the next budget.

Spain’s so called “bad bank” Sareb has hired financial consultancy firm KPMG to sell the first batch of its distressed property stock to institutional investors.  The property, at least initially, will stay out of the retail market as Sareb tries to get the sale process off to good start by selling in bulk to large-scale funds looking for yield. Interested parties are thought to include private equity firms Leon Black’s Apollo Global Management LLC (APO), Thomas Barrack Jr.’s Colony Capital LLC and billionaire Wilbur Ross. The properties, secured from rescued lenders, are based in Andalucia and Valencia and represent some of the better stock on Sareb’s books as it bids to sell the first segment of the 200,000 plus units it has on its books. According to Bloomberg, the bank now has assets worth over 50 billion euros which includes 38 completed developments and at least one off-plan project.  The stock was bought with average discounts ranging from about 46 percent ...

Just a little off-topic (in terms of property that is) but here is the line-up for this years Low Cost Festival in Benidorm with headline acts Portishead and Glasvegas recently announced. A great weekend of music for sure.

Whilst the last two months have been extraordinarily busy for us at Ultimate Homes, the Spanish Government announced on April 5th via their Boletín Oficial del Estado that the much-mentioned energy certificate or the "Certificado de Eficiencia Energética" would now be obligatory for all properties for sale or for rent with effect from the 1st June 2013.  These Certificates provide an energy efficiency rating for properties, with the rating graded from A to G (with A being the top rating for a very energy efficient home and G for the least efficient property). Energy Efficiency Certificates in Spain can only be obtained though properly qualified and registered energy efficiency assessors. These are architects, engineers or qualified technicians, who have completed the relevant Spanish government course and who have then been certified to carry out the work involved in investigating a property for its energy efficiency. Only they will be able to issue an Energy Efficiency...

This isn't really the usual type of blog that I write but.... With effect from tomorrow March 1st, we will be offering various properties through our collaboration with one of the largest banks in Spain - Banco Sabadell - with a further discount of up to 40% , and these are properties in some cases already with discounts of 50%. In short huge discounts available on bank properties starting tomorrow until the end of April. Watch this space!!