I've inherited a flat in Galicia, help!

[yonni]

Hi,
New member here. A couple of years ago my Spanish aunt died leaving me and my brother a flat in Orense, Galicia. Dad was Spanish but mum is English and I was born in the UK. I speak OK conversational Spanish but am having difficulty with the legal & banking language. My brother speaks no Spanish at all so its all up to me. I have next to no experience of living in Spain other than as a student 17 years ago for 9 months. I| live in Edinburgh which makes traveling to Spain a bit of a chore as there are no direct flights to Galicia from here. The flat was being let by 2 girls who were happy to stay on when we inherited but will be leaving in January. I beleive that I have paid all of the appropriate taxes etc so far (Spanish inheritance tax is brutal!).

I now have to find an agency to let the flat for me as I can't realistically manage it from here. I would welcome any thoughts/advice on the following:

A good insurance company for property insurance.
Any advice on dealing with agencies and how much % is normal?
Am I right in thinking that a standard contract is 5 years in Spain?

Any other words of caution/wisdom gratefully received.

Thanks

 

[yonni]

Thanks Rob, I'll take a look. Is linea directa web based and right across Spain or a chain of offices?

Also, how do I go about finding out what my tax obligations are? What is the SoNish equivalent if HMRC or do I only pay tax when I sell?

 

[L Vazquez]

Tax obligations

Hello Yonni,

regarding your tax obligations: when a property is onwned by one or more non-resident, each owner (non-resident) must present the "non-resident income tax". CASE 1: When the property is not rented, the tax must be presented once per year, i.e. for the year 2012, the deadline to present this tax will be 31st December 2013. The tax is based on the rateable value ofthe property "Valor Catastral"
CASE 2: When the property is rented, taxes must be presented every quarter, and the tax is based on the benefits/losses on that period.

Thanks Rob, I'll take a look. Is linea directa web based and right across Spain or a chain of offices?

Also, how do I go about finding out what my tax obligations are? What is the SoNish equivalent if HMRC or do I only pay tax when I sell?