Investing in Spain Real Estate and Managing Properties Remotely

[Ravi Kulkarni]

I am a newbie in real estate investing. I have a few properties in the US primarily for generating a regular cash flow. I would like to explore European real estate market, specifically, Spain with the same investment goal - cash flow. The questions that I have are: 

Is it possible to generate positive cash flow (rent - mortgage - operating expenses resulting in positive number) in Spain? 

I live in Dallas, TX. What kind of challenges do you run into in managing Spain properties remotely? 

Has anybody done it successfully that lives in Dallas, TX or nearby cities? If yes, would you be open to meet me in person and chat? 

Have additional questions after these initial ones. 

Appreciate your experience-based responses. Thanks, 

[Africa Estrada]

Hi everyone, 

In my opinion the biggest advantage when investing in Real Estate in Spain versus the US is the adquisition prices and the construction costs. They are both lower in Spain and therefore you are able to get more bang for your bucks. Another interesting "advantage" depending on how you look at it, in the case of "fix and flips" is that remodels in Spain do not go through as many city inspections as they do in the states. Depending on how extensive the renovations are, in many cases the architect that draws the renovations plans and helps obtain the building permit is then allowed to supervise the works by signing a "declaration  as the responsible supervisor" and the city inspector comes at the end for a final sign off, allowing therefore for a faster construction timeline. Of course the work has to be done according  to current building codes, however, the same scenario in many places in the states (specifically in California) is completely different, because you have to schedule a city inspection for each construction milestone (rought electrical, rough plumbing ing, sheetrock, stucco and so on) and each inspection could take  4-6 weeks before the inspector is available to come to the site (at least that is the case in the bay area). So basically the same project could take a year as far as the actual construction in the states, while in Spain (at least in Valencia area) the construction part would take half that time or less. For example. As we all know time is money, so that time saved translates into less interest paid to the lenders and more projects under your belt. 


Originally posted by @Erwin Groenendijk:

@Shital Thakkar This is a very broad topic to discuss, however in general the difference in language and regulations are topics to take into consideration. For buying a property in Spain you have to pay 10% of transfer tax for example. The after per month costs are then again way lower as in the US. Depends on where you invest specifically in the country but on average the prices are lower in Spain than what you are used to in the US. This makes that you can do more with your money here in Spain than in the US.

Also interesting to hear @Africa Estrada's opinion. She is from Valencia originally and lived for a long time in the US, before now deciding to come back to Valencia, Spain again. We are working together on some projects and she is saying that the biggest difference is the amount of opportunities in Spain still available & the mentality of the people towards real estate. The country is not that exploited in terms of real estate yet. It is not a big hype to be flipping houses in creative ways of financing, for example. This can bring advantages and disadvantages of course.