Wow, I cant believe it's 8 months since I last wrote on here. Time flies so quickly, and although I remember saying that when we lived in the UK, I swear that it goes even faster here..............or is it just that I am getting older? Who knows?
Well, the now extremely strict regulations for building in Catalunya has really thrown the cat amongst the pigeons!
It seems that quite a few established (and some not established) estate agents in Catalunya are now "trying their hands" at selling in Aragon........maybe they think, oh well, it's Aragon, so people can build anywhere,
WRONG
Maybe they think, only one hectare is needed, so we can build on anything over that size.
WRONG
Maybe they think, "oh look at that finca on the river" we can build a house there,
WRONG
and maybe they think, "oh it's Aragon, so there's no protected areas".
WRONG
Aragon in general has a much more relaxed view on building on rustic land in comparison to other regions of Spain, and obviously we only work and specialise in a very small area of Aragon, but it still has it's own rules and regulations.
Quite recently, on http://www.kyero.com/ a new "estate agent" has sprung up out of nowhere, making all kinds of wild claims about what you can build, where you can take water from, what grants he can get for you, permissions already in place (what a joke) etc. etc. etc.
Please, please, please be careful, if something sounds too good to be true......................then it usually is.
We have worked in this area now for a long time, and we have yet to find a rural property where:
1) the "permissions are in place" to build.
2) Nor have permissions been agreed to take water from a river!
3) Definitely no finca has been given permission to build 3 houses on it!
4) "Mains water & electricity" can be connected at little cost!!!!
5) Some villages you need a minimum of 2.5 hectares to get building permission, but this "new estate agent" is trying to sell smaller fincas, saying you can build! I can go on and on and on!
The thing is, there really isn't any need to lie or "embroider" the truth about this area, because you really can build legally, and the few places where the rules are slightly different, we know where they are, therefore we dont advertise a finca that doesn't have enough land to get building permission.
We have in fact seen many beautiful fincas that would have sold in no time at all, then we have to explain to the owner that foreign buyers almost always want to build, therefore we cannot advertise their property as it's just not big enough. Sometimes it can be quite upsetting, especially if the people are old, and they need to sell a finca to survive, but, we have to think about YOU, the client who might possibly be ploughing life savings into the purchase of this finca.
Imagine how you would feel if we hadn't done our homework, and you ended up buying a finca that was too small and you basically end up with a very beautiful piece of land, that you cant even build a Lego house on! Well, unfortunately some of these "not big enough" fincas, are now being advertised on Kyero.com and not by us obviously........SO PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL OUT THERE!
As most of you know Finca-Casa-Aragon S.L. advertise on numerous property websites in Spain and also in the UK. Any of our clients will tell you that we have a certain way of laying out the advert, so that you can definitely recognise that it's one of ours.
Well, if another "cowboy" on the block wasn't enough to contend with, he's even tried to copy the style of our adverts, with the exclamation mark at the end of each sentence on the description, in fact the only way you can tell it's not ours, is that the guy is Spanish, and his grammar sometimes is incorrect.
I suppose we should be flattered, that he wants to copy what we do so well, but I'm afraid that maybe his ulterior motive, is to steer you towards buying from him with his outragious claims.
If I receive any more information, I will put it on here ASAP.
Jools
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Courts decide!!!!!
Last week in one of the Catalan newspapers "Diari Ebre", the front page article was about 3 houses which had been built illegally.
One was an English couple near Gandesa, the second was a Spanish family near Tortosa, and it didn't specify the third family but the building was near Alcanar.
All 3 properties are in the area known as "Terres del Ebre" which basically means soil or land of the Ebro.
It said that the first family have to pay 16400 Euros fine, and take their house down. The same outcome for the Spanish family but with a slightly smaller fine, and again demolish the house and a fine for the third family.
The authorities also requested custodial sentences for the offenders ranging from 4 years down to 18 months.
Now, imagine that you have pumped all of your life savings into this dream home in Spain, or you have taken a mortgage to do it.............what happens?
I'll tell you what happens.......................you've lost the lot, and more besides, because you now have a fine to pay, and probably you will need to hire a demolition company to take down your beautiful home............................and why?????.........because unfortunately when most of us "Brits" come to Spain, we leave our brains on the airplane.
Don't believe everything some of these estate agents tell you, ask them if you can speak to people who have actually bought from them. Do they have a testimonial page or guest book on their website with letters from genuine people WITH EMAIL ADDRESSES?
My heart goes out to these poor people who were sucked in by nothing more than "cowboys" lining their own pockets. But in all fairness, would anyone in their right mind buy a piece of land in the UK from an estate agent, and just build what the hell you wanted, without planning permission, without Architects plans...........without nothing official!!!.....No of course you wouldn't, so why do it here???????????????
In total contrast to these horror stories, more and more families are buying in Aragon, people are starting to build and or renovate houses legally, with permission from the local town halls and also from the Government of Aragon....................none of our clients are looking over their shoulders, wondering when the next official or bulldozer is coming to knock their houses down.
Also, Mark from Holland, who I mentioned in my last posting has finally been given a date in July to appear in court about his building near El Pinell de Brai. So when I know what the outcome is, I will write it on here......................keep looking.
One was an English couple near Gandesa, the second was a Spanish family near Tortosa, and it didn't specify the third family but the building was near Alcanar.
All 3 properties are in the area known as "Terres del Ebre" which basically means soil or land of the Ebro.
It said that the first family have to pay 16400 Euros fine, and take their house down. The same outcome for the Spanish family but with a slightly smaller fine, and again demolish the house and a fine for the third family.
The authorities also requested custodial sentences for the offenders ranging from 4 years down to 18 months.
Now, imagine that you have pumped all of your life savings into this dream home in Spain, or you have taken a mortgage to do it.............what happens?
I'll tell you what happens.......................you've lost the lot, and more besides, because you now have a fine to pay, and probably you will need to hire a demolition company to take down your beautiful home............................and why?????.........because unfortunately when most of us "Brits" come to Spain, we leave our brains on the airplane.
Don't believe everything some of these estate agents tell you, ask them if you can speak to people who have actually bought from them. Do they have a testimonial page or guest book on their website with letters from genuine people WITH EMAIL ADDRESSES?
My heart goes out to these poor people who were sucked in by nothing more than "cowboys" lining their own pockets. But in all fairness, would anyone in their right mind buy a piece of land in the UK from an estate agent, and just build what the hell you wanted, without planning permission, without Architects plans...........without nothing official!!!.....No of course you wouldn't, so why do it here???????????????
In total contrast to these horror stories, more and more families are buying in Aragon, people are starting to build and or renovate houses legally, with permission from the local town halls and also from the Government of Aragon....................none of our clients are looking over their shoulders, wondering when the next official or bulldozer is coming to knock their houses down.
Also, Mark from Holland, who I mentioned in my last posting has finally been given a date in July to appear in court about his building near El Pinell de Brai. So when I know what the outcome is, I will write it on here......................keep looking.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Latest happenings!
Well, it certainly is a long long time since i wrote my original article about buying property in Catalunya or Aragon. In fact it was someone who read my blog and suggested that i should make frequent updates due to the number of horror stories of people building in Catalunya.
Quite recently there have been a number of cases in court around the Gandesa region in Catalunya, and it seems to be people from the UK and Holland who are either at fault/or misguided/or building illegally/or in fact being made examples of, depending on which way you want to look at things.
I know a family from Holland who bought a piece of land between El Pinell de Brai and Gandesa. They didn't want to do anything wrong or "ruffle any one's feathers" about building, so they applied through the proper channels to renovate the stone building which was already on the finca. Of course, we now all know that you can only ever get permission to build an almacen, which is basically a tractor and machinery storehouse (not a house for living in) but this has been the trend around this area for a long time now. There must be so many "almacens" with fitted kitchen's, bathrooms and walk in wardrobes, than in any other part of the world.
After all of the paperwork was completed, the building work started. The Dutch family were in Holland, while a local English builder started the work.
Not many days after the work had started, the builder was visited by the Forestal Agents (sort of Police for the countryside) and he was asked for the written permissions. He didn't have them, so he was told to stop the work immediately and they wrote out a very long and detailed report in Catalan, and told him to give it to the owner of the finca.
The owner mailed the permissions to the builder, who then showed them to the local council and Forestal agents, but apparently the authorities went to visit the construction site again, and they said that the renovation had gone 50cms past the agreed position, therefore all building would be suspended and the owner would hear the outcome. This seems an awfully trivial excuse for them to stop the building, but the general feeling now is that they will find fault with anything.
Now, let's take the story forward 7 months.
The owner arrived in the area, to discover that there was a warrant out for his arrest, and unless he went to court and appealed about his conviction, he could actually end up with a criminal record here in Spain, and the worse case scenario, he could go to prison!!!
This is when we actually met Mark, the owner from Holland. He was an acquaintance of some clients of ours from Holland, and they asked if we could do anything to help, because obviously they needed someone who could speak fluent Catalan or Spanish, to explain to the court what had actually happened.
After months and months of waiting for an appearance in court and 2 visits to Spain, just to fill in some paperwork, he is still no nearer to the eventual outcome.
Judging from other similar cases recently, he will be told to take down the building at his own cost and put the ground back in it's original condition, and also receive a fine, and obviously, never be allowed to live on his piece of Spanish soil, therefore rendering it useless to him.
Needless to say, he has now decided to buy a property just across the border into Aragon, where he can get permission to legally build a house to live in and not just a tractor shed.
Another case has been in court, where an English man bought a finca from a local estate agent in Gandesa who told him that they had permission to build a house there, so he took them on their word, and it just so happened that the estate agents husband was a builder..................what a fantastic coincidence, when of course it is so difficult to converse with local Spanish companies, if you don't speak the lingo!
Complacency nearly always sets in, and it is so easy to be sucked into the easy option.
This poor man took everything as being Gospel from the English estate agent and her husband, so he purchased the land, and he then handed over his hard earned money to have the house built.
Now, this particular finca is only a few hundred meters along the same road from the one i bought myself over 3 years ago. I already knew that you would never get permission to build in the area, as it is protected.
BUT, a lovely single storey, 3 bed roomed house was constructed, and the guy was almost ready to move over and live in his dream home, when the Forestal agents came and "slapped" an illegal build petition on the property, and court proceedings began in earnest.
The courts declared that he had to take down the house, so he subsequently decided to take the estate agent to court for lying about the whole situation.
The story so far is that it has cost him an awful lot of money to buy and build in the first place, more money to pay for legal representation in court, more money to pay another company to demolish the house and even more money to counter sue the estate agent. I don't suppose she is too worried about that, she already has her commission for selling the land, and also her husbands "cut" for building the house..............................and as we know here in Spain, nothing happens very quickly, so it could be years before the end outcome is achieved, and i don't suppose this has anything to do with the estate agent now having her own house on the market for sale and also her villa on the coast. She will probably have sold her own properties before this case gets to court, and if the local "gossip machine" is anything to go by, they intend going to Bulgaria, to start selling all of those lovely new cheap apartments which are springing up all over the place.....................................but "dodgy estate agents beware", we have heard that if you "do the dirty" over there, you are dealing mainly with local Mafia groups, and somehow i don't think they bother with the Judicial system!!! So you might just be biting off more than you can chew, but you know the saying...............what goes around comes around!
Now, on a much more happy and pleasant note, many of our own clients are at the planning stages of construction, and even starting to build on their fincas just a few kilometers away from these horror stories in Matarrana in Aragon. I am hoping to update on some of them very soon when i get the time.
Quite recently there have been a number of cases in court around the Gandesa region in Catalunya, and it seems to be people from the UK and Holland who are either at fault/or misguided/or building illegally/or in fact being made examples of, depending on which way you want to look at things.
I know a family from Holland who bought a piece of land between El Pinell de Brai and Gandesa. They didn't want to do anything wrong or "ruffle any one's feathers" about building, so they applied through the proper channels to renovate the stone building which was already on the finca. Of course, we now all know that you can only ever get permission to build an almacen, which is basically a tractor and machinery storehouse (not a house for living in) but this has been the trend around this area for a long time now. There must be so many "almacens" with fitted kitchen's, bathrooms and walk in wardrobes, than in any other part of the world.
After all of the paperwork was completed, the building work started. The Dutch family were in Holland, while a local English builder started the work.
Not many days after the work had started, the builder was visited by the Forestal Agents (sort of Police for the countryside) and he was asked for the written permissions. He didn't have them, so he was told to stop the work immediately and they wrote out a very long and detailed report in Catalan, and told him to give it to the owner of the finca.
The owner mailed the permissions to the builder, who then showed them to the local council and Forestal agents, but apparently the authorities went to visit the construction site again, and they said that the renovation had gone 50cms past the agreed position, therefore all building would be suspended and the owner would hear the outcome. This seems an awfully trivial excuse for them to stop the building, but the general feeling now is that they will find fault with anything.
Now, let's take the story forward 7 months.
The owner arrived in the area, to discover that there was a warrant out for his arrest, and unless he went to court and appealed about his conviction, he could actually end up with a criminal record here in Spain, and the worse case scenario, he could go to prison!!!
This is when we actually met Mark, the owner from Holland. He was an acquaintance of some clients of ours from Holland, and they asked if we could do anything to help, because obviously they needed someone who could speak fluent Catalan or Spanish, to explain to the court what had actually happened.
After months and months of waiting for an appearance in court and 2 visits to Spain, just to fill in some paperwork, he is still no nearer to the eventual outcome.
Judging from other similar cases recently, he will be told to take down the building at his own cost and put the ground back in it's original condition, and also receive a fine, and obviously, never be allowed to live on his piece of Spanish soil, therefore rendering it useless to him.
Needless to say, he has now decided to buy a property just across the border into Aragon, where he can get permission to legally build a house to live in and not just a tractor shed.
Another case has been in court, where an English man bought a finca from a local estate agent in Gandesa who told him that they had permission to build a house there, so he took them on their word, and it just so happened that the estate agents husband was a builder..................what a fantastic coincidence, when of course it is so difficult to converse with local Spanish companies, if you don't speak the lingo!
Complacency nearly always sets in, and it is so easy to be sucked into the easy option.
This poor man took everything as being Gospel from the English estate agent and her husband, so he purchased the land, and he then handed over his hard earned money to have the house built.
Now, this particular finca is only a few hundred meters along the same road from the one i bought myself over 3 years ago. I already knew that you would never get permission to build in the area, as it is protected.
BUT, a lovely single storey, 3 bed roomed house was constructed, and the guy was almost ready to move over and live in his dream home, when the Forestal agents came and "slapped" an illegal build petition on the property, and court proceedings began in earnest.
The courts declared that he had to take down the house, so he subsequently decided to take the estate agent to court for lying about the whole situation.
The story so far is that it has cost him an awful lot of money to buy and build in the first place, more money to pay for legal representation in court, more money to pay another company to demolish the house and even more money to counter sue the estate agent. I don't suppose she is too worried about that, she already has her commission for selling the land, and also her husbands "cut" for building the house..............................and as we know here in Spain, nothing happens very quickly, so it could be years before the end outcome is achieved, and i don't suppose this has anything to do with the estate agent now having her own house on the market for sale and also her villa on the coast. She will probably have sold her own properties before this case gets to court, and if the local "gossip machine" is anything to go by, they intend going to Bulgaria, to start selling all of those lovely new cheap apartments which are springing up all over the place.....................................but "dodgy estate agents beware", we have heard that if you "do the dirty" over there, you are dealing mainly with local Mafia groups, and somehow i don't think they bother with the Judicial system!!! So you might just be biting off more than you can chew, but you know the saying...............what goes around comes around!
Now, on a much more happy and pleasant note, many of our own clients are at the planning stages of construction, and even starting to build on their fincas just a few kilometers away from these horror stories in Matarrana in Aragon. I am hoping to update on some of them very soon when i get the time.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Welcome to my blog
I moved over to Catalunya permanently in May 2004 with my young son, who was then 6 years old. I visited the area earlier, to search for a property in the countryside, where I could build a Red Cedar wood house from Canada, which would obviously be our home, but also a show house for other like minded people, who wanted to do the same. I arranged a sales contract with a company in Canada to sell and market their houses.
I went out with a couple of Spanish estate agents in the area to view some prospective pieces of land. I fell in love with almost 2 hectares of olive and almond groves not far from the town of Gandesa. There was a dramatic mountain back drop on the finca, beautiful views down the valley, good access on a tarmac country lane, mains electricity only a couple of hundred meters away, and the neighbouring property had mains water, absolutely perfect, as I didn't want to be without all my home comforts, but wanted space and fresh air, and a safe environment to raise my son.
Nothing wrong with that you might think!
The estate agent said there was no problem with putting the wooden house on the land, and I would definitely be able to connect to both water and the electricity.............mission accomplished! I put a deposit down on the finca, and went back to the UK to put my house on the market, and plan the rest of our lives.
I returned a few weeks later to sign the contract at the Notary, and the finca was mine. My friend and I took a bottle of the best Cava, and christened the finca, I was ecstatic.
We set off for Spain on 23rd May, with the car loaded up, and everything else in storage until I could ship it over.
I rented an apartment in a village close by, and my son started school, life was just so good............until I went to the local Ajuntament (council office) to apply for the water and electricity connections. In my broken pidgeon Spanish I explained that the estate agent told me to come here and apply for the connections, I could tell by the look on the man's face that he thought I was joking!!!!
To cut a long story short, I would never get permission for either, and as for a wooden house, well, forget it........................I was devastated, to say the least.
Now, before I go any further, I am not out to name and shame estate agents, but you can imagine what I wanted to do. I had also paid an English man who "claimed" he was a builder, to clear and level the land where the house was going to go, and also repair the driveway. I later discovered that he was nothing more than a cowboy, who had ripped off other unsuspecting people, and let me add, he is still doing it now! One thing you will learn very quickly here is that almost everyone you meet is a builder, electrician, plumber etc etc etc, ask to see their paperwork from the UK, and see their faces drop!
I started to look into the rules and regulations of building or renovating property in the countryside in Catalunya. The more I discovered, the more annoyed I became, as I met more and more people in the same boat. The only difference was, they were all building and getting on with it, and never asked permission for anything. They all seemed to believe what the "bar room barristers" were telling them, "oh just get on with it, they will give you a fine at the end, pay the fine, and your house then becomes legal".
Well, I'm sorry, but i wasn't prepared to put all my money on the line for a gamble, and end up as another British statistic, who runs out of money, and has to return to the UK penniless, having taken your children out of the school system, and had them in school over here learning a new language for nothing!
OK, so plan A, was a no go zone, so I had to re-evaluate what I wanted for myself and my son. I decided that because of the rapidly changing laws for building in Catalunya seemed to be changing by the minute, I decided to go for the soft option and by a town house in the village. We had already integrated with the local community, and I had made some new Spanish friends.
Now, am I so glad that I did, because only a few weeks ago, the authorities went to all the properties with illegal buildings on them. They took photographs and measurements, gave the owners a written report from the district Architect, and now they are basically waiting to see what happens. I have heard through an Architect friend that they are going to make examples of the worst offenders, the ones who have built huge two storey houses, and give them huge fines of up to 40,000 Euros, or take the house down, which you will be billed for as well.
Others have already been told to demolish them, and are currently trying to take the estate agent to court .
Now................what is absolutely amazing me is that, it is common knowledge here, that you cannot build houses on rustic land, and in the majority of cases you cant even renovate a house that is already on a finca. Basically, they don't want you living on "the campo".
BUT, if you look at any of the estate agents websites, the majority of them are still saying that you can!!!!! Some of them even say that you cant build, but you can put a mobile home or a wooden house on there instead, again not true in 99% of cases.
Another way around it, is to say that you want to build an almacen, which is basically a storehouse for a tractor and machinery. Some estate agents are saying that you can build a "house" of 40 m2 on two floors, but it's not a house as we know it, it is an agricultural building to store things in. Do you really want to invest all of your hard earned money in buying a rural Spanish property, to be looking over your shoulder all the time, in case anyone sees you living in your "almacen", and don't forget, if you build it and caught living in it.........down it has to come!
You could never sell the property on again stating that it had a legal building on it, but, here we go again, the majority of the people who have built what the hell they want on their finca's, now have them up for sale, at huge prices. So what about the poor souls who just might buy them, they then live with the threat, of when the authorities decide to do whatever they are going to do.
Please, please,please, if you are planning to buy a property in Catalunya, CHECK, CHECK, and DOUBLE CHECK, that the house is legally registered on the escritura (deeds) and also is registered with the land registry as well.
Now I'm sure similar things go on all over Spain, but i cant comment, because I only know the details here in Catalunya. The estate agent trade here is not regulated like in the UK, so always do your own homework, and use a solicitor, would you ever consider buying a property in the UK without one, of course not, so why the hell do we flock over here and buy property like it is a bag of groceries, think about it, yes, it's another expense, but not as expensive as finding out that you cant renovate your Catalan masia, because the ruin no longer has a roof, or the house already there never had permissions for building!!!
I am a naturally inquisitive person (nosy.....lol) and while I was working for an English magazine here in Catalunya, I was asked by a Spanish client of the mag, how he could sell some property in Aragon without using an estate agent. He explained that you can build there, so long as you use an Architect for the plans. We never thought any more about it.
Now the title of this blog is Catalunya or Aragon? Are you wondering why? Let me tell you.
My Spanish friend and I were over in Matarrana, a beautiful area of Aragon, just across the border of Catalunya, we were working for the magazine selling advertising. Chatting in a cafe at the lunch time, we overheard some people talking of building a house on a finca, with Architects plans and full permissions, so we started to do some research of our own.
To cut a long story short, you can build on any property which has more than 1 hectare, it doesn't matter if there is already a building on it or not, one village actually insists that you need a minimum of 2.5 hectares before you can build, but the rest of them it's only one hectare. The actual facts and figures are as follows. On land between one hectare and 1.8 hectares, you can build a house up to 150 m2, but once you own more than 1.8 hectares, you can build up to 300 m2, that is one hell of a large house, believe me.
We began contacting everyone we knew in Aragon to let them know that we were offering an advertising service in English and Spanish, if they wanted to sell any property. The response was amazing, and we now have a good portfolio of fincas and town houses, mainly in the region of Matarrana, and also some in Maella.
I cant tell you how gratifying it is, to help people achieve the same thing that I originally came here to do, and the greatest thing of all is that they can do it legally, not look over their shoulder in case the authorities come to visit, not live in a tractor almacen, and not worry , if they want to sell their property later, because it is all 100% LEGAL.
Some of the properties we advertise, are only a few hundred meters over the border of Catalunya, but the whole world changes when you cross that border, if you want to build your dream home.
I intend writing and reporting on here as often as i have the time. I will also ask people who have been told lies, and lost money or property through no fault of their own, if i can interview them and put their stories on here.
I don't want anyone to go through the same worry and upset, when you come here for a better life, that's exactly what it should be, but until the Spanish government get their act together, and stop this kind of thing happening, there will be other victims just like me, because the sharks are sat here waiting for them to get off the planes, rubbing their hands together.
If all of this helps at least one person, it has been more than worthwhile, until the next report, have a look at www.libercasa.co.uk and search for Matarrana, or www.kyero.com and search for Teruel, you can be assured that if you are looking to buy without building problems, this is a beautiful untouched part of Spain, and yet only an hour from the coast, and one and a half hours from Reus airport.
I went out with a couple of Spanish estate agents in the area to view some prospective pieces of land. I fell in love with almost 2 hectares of olive and almond groves not far from the town of Gandesa. There was a dramatic mountain back drop on the finca, beautiful views down the valley, good access on a tarmac country lane, mains electricity only a couple of hundred meters away, and the neighbouring property had mains water, absolutely perfect, as I didn't want to be without all my home comforts, but wanted space and fresh air, and a safe environment to raise my son.
Nothing wrong with that you might think!
The estate agent said there was no problem with putting the wooden house on the land, and I would definitely be able to connect to both water and the electricity.............mission accomplished! I put a deposit down on the finca, and went back to the UK to put my house on the market, and plan the rest of our lives.
I returned a few weeks later to sign the contract at the Notary, and the finca was mine. My friend and I took a bottle of the best Cava, and christened the finca, I was ecstatic.
We set off for Spain on 23rd May, with the car loaded up, and everything else in storage until I could ship it over.
I rented an apartment in a village close by, and my son started school, life was just so good............until I went to the local Ajuntament (council office) to apply for the water and electricity connections. In my broken pidgeon Spanish I explained that the estate agent told me to come here and apply for the connections, I could tell by the look on the man's face that he thought I was joking!!!!
To cut a long story short, I would never get permission for either, and as for a wooden house, well, forget it........................I was devastated, to say the least.
Now, before I go any further, I am not out to name and shame estate agents, but you can imagine what I wanted to do. I had also paid an English man who "claimed" he was a builder, to clear and level the land where the house was going to go, and also repair the driveway. I later discovered that he was nothing more than a cowboy, who had ripped off other unsuspecting people, and let me add, he is still doing it now! One thing you will learn very quickly here is that almost everyone you meet is a builder, electrician, plumber etc etc etc, ask to see their paperwork from the UK, and see their faces drop!
I started to look into the rules and regulations of building or renovating property in the countryside in Catalunya. The more I discovered, the more annoyed I became, as I met more and more people in the same boat. The only difference was, they were all building and getting on with it, and never asked permission for anything. They all seemed to believe what the "bar room barristers" were telling them, "oh just get on with it, they will give you a fine at the end, pay the fine, and your house then becomes legal".
Well, I'm sorry, but i wasn't prepared to put all my money on the line for a gamble, and end up as another British statistic, who runs out of money, and has to return to the UK penniless, having taken your children out of the school system, and had them in school over here learning a new language for nothing!
OK, so plan A, was a no go zone, so I had to re-evaluate what I wanted for myself and my son. I decided that because of the rapidly changing laws for building in Catalunya seemed to be changing by the minute, I decided to go for the soft option and by a town house in the village. We had already integrated with the local community, and I had made some new Spanish friends.
Now, am I so glad that I did, because only a few weeks ago, the authorities went to all the properties with illegal buildings on them. They took photographs and measurements, gave the owners a written report from the district Architect, and now they are basically waiting to see what happens. I have heard through an Architect friend that they are going to make examples of the worst offenders, the ones who have built huge two storey houses, and give them huge fines of up to 40,000 Euros, or take the house down, which you will be billed for as well.
Others have already been told to demolish them, and are currently trying to take the estate agent to court .
Now................what is absolutely amazing me is that, it is common knowledge here, that you cannot build houses on rustic land, and in the majority of cases you cant even renovate a house that is already on a finca. Basically, they don't want you living on "the campo".
BUT, if you look at any of the estate agents websites, the majority of them are still saying that you can!!!!! Some of them even say that you cant build, but you can put a mobile home or a wooden house on there instead, again not true in 99% of cases.
Another way around it, is to say that you want to build an almacen, which is basically a storehouse for a tractor and machinery. Some estate agents are saying that you can build a "house" of 40 m2 on two floors, but it's not a house as we know it, it is an agricultural building to store things in. Do you really want to invest all of your hard earned money in buying a rural Spanish property, to be looking over your shoulder all the time, in case anyone sees you living in your "almacen", and don't forget, if you build it and caught living in it.........down it has to come!
You could never sell the property on again stating that it had a legal building on it, but, here we go again, the majority of the people who have built what the hell they want on their finca's, now have them up for sale, at huge prices. So what about the poor souls who just might buy them, they then live with the threat, of when the authorities decide to do whatever they are going to do.
Please, please,please, if you are planning to buy a property in Catalunya, CHECK, CHECK, and DOUBLE CHECK, that the house is legally registered on the escritura (deeds) and also is registered with the land registry as well.
Now I'm sure similar things go on all over Spain, but i cant comment, because I only know the details here in Catalunya. The estate agent trade here is not regulated like in the UK, so always do your own homework, and use a solicitor, would you ever consider buying a property in the UK without one, of course not, so why the hell do we flock over here and buy property like it is a bag of groceries, think about it, yes, it's another expense, but not as expensive as finding out that you cant renovate your Catalan masia, because the ruin no longer has a roof, or the house already there never had permissions for building!!!
I am a naturally inquisitive person (nosy.....lol) and while I was working for an English magazine here in Catalunya, I was asked by a Spanish client of the mag, how he could sell some property in Aragon without using an estate agent. He explained that you can build there, so long as you use an Architect for the plans. We never thought any more about it.
Now the title of this blog is Catalunya or Aragon? Are you wondering why? Let me tell you.
My Spanish friend and I were over in Matarrana, a beautiful area of Aragon, just across the border of Catalunya, we were working for the magazine selling advertising. Chatting in a cafe at the lunch time, we overheard some people talking of building a house on a finca, with Architects plans and full permissions, so we started to do some research of our own.
To cut a long story short, you can build on any property which has more than 1 hectare, it doesn't matter if there is already a building on it or not, one village actually insists that you need a minimum of 2.5 hectares before you can build, but the rest of them it's only one hectare. The actual facts and figures are as follows. On land between one hectare and 1.8 hectares, you can build a house up to 150 m2, but once you own more than 1.8 hectares, you can build up to 300 m2, that is one hell of a large house, believe me.
We began contacting everyone we knew in Aragon to let them know that we were offering an advertising service in English and Spanish, if they wanted to sell any property. The response was amazing, and we now have a good portfolio of fincas and town houses, mainly in the region of Matarrana, and also some in Maella.
I cant tell you how gratifying it is, to help people achieve the same thing that I originally came here to do, and the greatest thing of all is that they can do it legally, not look over their shoulder in case the authorities come to visit, not live in a tractor almacen, and not worry , if they want to sell their property later, because it is all 100% LEGAL.
Some of the properties we advertise, are only a few hundred meters over the border of Catalunya, but the whole world changes when you cross that border, if you want to build your dream home.
I intend writing and reporting on here as often as i have the time. I will also ask people who have been told lies, and lost money or property through no fault of their own, if i can interview them and put their stories on here.
I don't want anyone to go through the same worry and upset, when you come here for a better life, that's exactly what it should be, but until the Spanish government get their act together, and stop this kind of thing happening, there will be other victims just like me, because the sharks are sat here waiting for them to get off the planes, rubbing their hands together.
If all of this helps at least one person, it has been more than worthwhile, until the next report, have a look at www.libercasa.co.uk and search for Matarrana, or www.kyero.com and search for Teruel, you can be assured that if you are looking to buy without building problems, this is a beautiful untouched part of Spain, and yet only an hour from the coast, and one and a half hours from Reus airport.
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