Buying a house in Mallorca

You search the listings on Mallorca’s largest property portals, arrange appointments, then meet the owners and conclude the contracts without any support at all. On the larger platforms you will easily find some 20,000 houses for sale in Mallorca. That takes a great deal of time and energy.

You look for an agent and first have the locations, prices and options explained to you. You set out your wishes and are then shown only the properties that come into question. Once you have found your dream house, you deal with the contracts together with the agent. You go to the notary with the specialist and receive an introduction to the Spanish tax and legal system.

In rural areas above all there are repeatedly houses and fincas that were built, or at least extended, without a valid permit. A Spanish newspaper reported that a British buyer had to have his house demolished after the event because it had been erected unlawfully. That is certainly not an everyday experience when buying a house in Mallorca, but in view of an estimated 30,000 unauthorised buildings in the Balearics it is a real risk.

Important to know: under Balearic building law the authority may open restoration proceedings only while building work is going on, and thereafter for at most eight years from full completion. That time limit does not apply on protected rural land, nor to catalogued or listed buildings, green spaces and public facilities — there a demolition order can be issued at any time. Where the use is unauthorised, the period does not even begin until the use ends. And even once the period has expired the building does not become lawful: it is then “outside the planning order” (fuera de ordenación), which makes conversions, extensions and financing more difficult. Have the building permit, the cadastral position and any pending proceedings checked before you buy.

Spanish tax law differs markedly from the German system. Reading into it properly is barely possible for anyone without Spanish. That is another reason for bad experiences when buying a house in Mallorca. Buyers do not properly understand the contract documents, miss important deadlines and then run into trouble with the authorities concerned.

Important to know: just as in Germany, most sellers in Spain are reputable. But here as there you will also find black sheep. Recognising them is all but impossible without a command of the language and an understanding of the local mentality.

Buyers who rely on experienced agents from the start report well-founded advice, comprehensive support in their own language and exclusive properties they would not have found without the specialists.

In handling the purchase too, buyers working with agents often have better experiences. The specialists examine the legal position of the property. They check whether there are charges or obligations and translate all the contracts. The support of lawyers and tax advisers, who frequently work together with the agents, also makes buying a house in Mallorca a positive experience.

Since today almost anyone may sell a property in Spain, buyers do not only have positive experiences. If they fall into the hands of disreputable “specialists”, sound advice is missing. Support during the purchase fails to materialise and even the risk of buying an unauthorised building rises.

Important to know: for some years now anyone has been allowed to sell property in Mallorca. If you take that route and opt for private listings, you can save the agent’s fee. You then have to take care yourself of the land registry extract (nota simple), the purchase contract (contrato de compraventa), the notarial deed (escritura pública) and the land registry change and payment of taxes. That calls for a great deal of experience and carries certain risks. If you do not have that experience, we clearly recommend working with an agent.