Sales of property in Spain are exceptionally low at present. The upside of this market is that for those fortunate enough to still be able to contemplate buying a second home deals can be struck and bargains secured.
The whole process of buying from selling agents and developers through to the legal advice you can get is now far more transparent, informative and supportive than a few years ago.
It still remains sensible however if you do intend to buy to appoint a completely independent legal adviser and not one recommended by any other involved party.
Despite lots of good news for serious buyers the credit crunch and its impact on lending means that whilst fantastic bargains may be available you will need at least 30% of the agreed purchase price as deposits. In reality for most purchases this is likely to be 40%. No banks now fund more than 80% of purchase price whatever level the valuation reaches so minimum deposits are 20% plus another 10% to 12% for costs.
Large UK property portfolio holders with more than 2 or 3 buy to lets are now almost entirely excluded from Spanish borrowing as are those clients that cannot prove incomes via official tax returns.
Spanish banks are only lending to holiday or retirement home purchasers and not those they would class as investors. Investor can find bargains but must expect to be left with very low or zero gearing.