The cost of buying a house is more than just your monthly mortgage payments. Before that, experts recommend that you save at least 13% of the value of the property to help with the following costs:
Expenses with or without a mortgage, in new and used properties
Notary fees: Notaries are state-regulated so they all charge the same for their services. If your petition to buy is successful, their fee will be between 600 and 875 euro, depending on the price of the property.
Registering the property: you have to pay to legally register the notary’s signature. This carries a fixed price, normally between 400 and 650 euro, that also depends on the price of the property.
Taxes: the amount will depend on the property price and whether it is a new build or second-hand:
For new properties, VAT is 10% of the property price. For public buildings, the VAT may be 4% but this will vary by region and the type of social housing it is.
For used properties only, there is a Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto sobre las Transmisiones Patrimoniales or ITP). The exact amount will vary depending on place, but this is normally between 6% and 8%. It will be lower for protected buildings.
Also, Stamp Duty (Actos Jurídicos Documentados or IAJD) on new properties is based on the notary and registry fees. Each Autonomous Community sets their own prices but it’s normally from 0.5% to 1.5% of the sale price.
Processing: this is the only optional expenditure. You can find a professional to carry out the transaction, do the paperwork and organise a mortgage. They are not regulated by set rates but it’s normally about 300 euro.
Expenses with a mortgage
As well as the aforementioned costs, there are these:
Housing tax: when you get a mortgage, you must hire a surveyor to cement the price of the property so the bank knows what type of financing to offer you. The average cost of this service is between 250 and 600 euro.
Notary, registry and Stamp Duty all have extra charges on the signing of a mortgage loan. However, thanks to recent developments, not all of these are to be paid by the buyer. Some banks, like Santander, Bankia and BBVA, take on some of these costs.
Processing: The bank that grants the loan selects the intermediary. The charge for this, the “provision of funds”, includes a rebate of any money left over and the bills not taken on by the financing entity.
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