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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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Well, the rules of the game in Spain are specific as in every given country in the world. There are some standard questions to answer before you decide to push your plans through. The first is "what", i.e. what are you planning to buy, a house or just a lot to build on. If you buy a house, there are several important elements to remember. Always check at the Property Registry if such property is registered and if there are any charges related to it. Be prepared to pay a small fee for certificate that the property is free of charges.

Before buying a house it's also recommendable to ask the municipality tax collection office, local electricity and water's company and also the local owners' association (if this is the case) for unpaid sums. When the house isn't completed yet, you should hold back a part of the amount in order to guarantee the finalization of the house, surrounding streets and green zones.

Always remember to register at Property Registry the copy of the deal you have signed in front of a Notary Public. Without such registration, which can be made by Notary, your agent or yourself the deal won't have a legal validity.

So far so good but which are the taxes and fees you should be paying? Except the fees you pay to your agent you have to be prepared to pay a Notary charges, which amount depends of the value of the property in the title deed. Further you have to pay Property Registry charges depending too on the property value. There is a Value Added Tax (VAT) for the property transfer, which is 7 percent of the total value for the new buildings. For all the other buildings or commercial premises the VAT is 16 percent. This tax is paid either to the builder or to the Public Treasure Office. When you resale your house or land you have to pay 6 percent as tax on transfer.

There are some additional taxes you should be aware when you buy a property in Spain. First is so called Increased Land Value Tax, which is paid to the local municipality and depends on the cadastral value of the house and on the years since the last sale. Second is an amount of 10 percent of the total value, which applies to persons who bye a house from non-resident foreigners. This sum of 10 percent is indeed prescribed by the law. In fact the buyer is obliged to withhold it from the seller for the purpose of guaranteeing that the seller pays the taxes related to the sale, which will be settled in the next income tax return.

If you plan to build yourself, you have to know that any construction works, even inside the house, have to receive building permits. So you have to contact municipality Planning department and present the total budget of the work. The cost of the building license is 5 percent of the total budget. For the large works (construction of new house, extension of the existing one) the plans have to be pre-approved by the College of Architects (with a fee going up to 5-10 percent of the total budget).

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Note: Persons and organizations you should address while or about buying (building) a property in Spain (except your real estate agent and/or builder):

• Local tax collection offices, local electricity and waters' company;
• Notary Public;
• Property Registry;
• Public Treasure Office;
• Planning department (municipality);
• College of Architects.

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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Spain.