About Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands and also the most populated island of Spain with a land area of 2.053 km² (1276 mi2). It has 908.555 inhabitants, which is 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands.

Next to being a tourist destination, Tenerife is also famous for its Carnival celebrations. It hosts the second largest Carnival in the world (after Rio de Janeiro) and the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is currently attempting to become a World Heritage Site. Already a World Heritage Site is the highest mountain of Spain and the third largest volcano in the world, Mt. Teide. The very same Mt. Teide is also responsible for the name of the island. The benehaorits (natives of La Palma) derived it from the words Tene ("mountain") and ife ("white"). After colonisation then, the Spanish added the letter "r" uniting both words to obtain the name Tenerife as a result.

About five million holiday makers visit Tenerife each year, the most of any of the Canary Islands. Tenerife is serviced by two airports, Tenerife North (Los Rodeos) and Tenerife South (Reina Sofia). It is indeed the tourism and economic centre of the archipelago. Because of the easy connections with Europe, the huge holiday market, and the diversity of the island, Tenerife is the perfect place for property investment!

Second Home Tenerife would love to help you find the best investment within any price range. If you would like to receive more information, please contact one of our offices or have a look at our website.

Corné Schreuder, Sales Director

Why Tenerife, Canary Islands?

Tenerife is the largest and most popular island of the Canary Islands. Holidaymakers from all over the world mostly prefer this island within the total Archipelago. Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock here to soak up its all year-round sunshine and to enjoy the buzzing atmosphere.

Tenerife plays host to a number of popular resorts around the island, and has something to offer that will suit any kind of taste. From the party resorts that are situated in Playa de Las Américas to the small typical island villages with their local ´casitas´ in the more remote areas. The island of Tenerife, apart from being popular with tourists, is also a home to a very large expat community. Life for those expats on the island is more relaxed and somewhat warmer than back home.

Property for sale in Tenerife has attracted the international buyer for decades, with British and German buyers taking up most of the market share. Property prices in some areas in Tenerife have obviously been hit by the current financial recession. Because of this, properties in Tenerife are very attractive to all potential property buyers and investors.

Our own website www.secondhometenerife.com features hundreds of properties for sale in Tenerife, as well as lots of other useful real estate information that apply on this island. Tenerife has an abundance of property types ranging from small studios, apartments, houses and of course spectacular villas.

Buying a property in Tenerife is very easy and straightforward, and costs associated with buying should be no more than 10% of any purchase price. Ask for our buyers guide for more details on the actual process!

Corné Schreuder, Sales Director

Preferred features in a property

 












New research has shown that people purchasing a property in Tenerife often look for homes with balconies or terraces, in order to make the most of the better weather! Knowing that according to NASA, the climate of the Canary Islands is “the best in the world”, this results to be a very logical decision when buying a property here!

Next to that, our experience revealed that air conditioning and access to a swimming pool - either private or shared - are among the other features buyers look for in properties in Tenerife. Also the importance of being close to amenities, such as restaurants, bars and shops, and the airport, are on top of the list. And last but not least, the possibility to have a rental income is often mentioned as an important issue.

Second Home Tenerife will listen to your ideas and wishes, noting that if you are considering purchasing real estate in Tenerife, you should of course take different factors into account when you are looking for an investment compared to planning to retire here. At Second Home Tenerife, we will do everything we can to help find you the perfect property!

Corné Schreuder, Sales Director 

Advice - Information

Each owner is expected to respect and take care of the general installations of the community and any other common elements in the property. In essence they are part of the owner´s property and if the apartment is to be sold, poor maintained installations would very much work against the owners. Owners are also expected to maintain their own property and keep it in good repair. If a repair is needed on the property, and it is the responsibility of the community, the owner has to allow the work to be carried out.

As well as paying the monthly community fees, the owner may have to pay further amounts of money to the reserve fund. The Spanish law says that the minimum fund should be at least 5% of the last ordinary budget. 

If the owner does not live within the community on a full time basis they need to notify the administrator of their residential address so any correspondence can be sent on. If they fail to notify the administrator, he only has to put communication messages on the notice board. This is considered under the law as a fair warning, as the administrator is only obliged to send registered notifications within Spain. 

And finally if you purchased your property and the community fees are not paid up to date, the debt will automatically become yours. Again an important reason to use our services to buy your dream property in Tenerife without any risks.

Corné Schreuder, Sales Director

Advice Information

Community Fees

If your property is situated within a complex, you will be required to contribute towards general maintenance and running costs, such as cleaning, re-painting, swimming pool maintenance, security and so on. The amount will depend on how large the complex is, where and how large your property is, how much work and costs are required to maintain the complex and how much you and your fellow owners agree to contribute. These Fees are collected every 1, 2 or 3 months, normally by direct debit from your bank account.

Utility Bills

Electricity and water bills are paid every two months - normally by direct debit from your bank account. Rubbish bills are normally paid every six months - if you live in a residencial complex some, or all of these bills may be included in your regular Community Fees.

Local Rates, IBI (Impuesto Bienes y Muebles)

Local Rates are paid annually and, depending on where your property is situated, they are levied between May and November for the whole of the current calendar year. The authorities will send you notification of when and how much you owe. However, these notifications often do not arrive, so please make sure you find out when they are due to be paid in your area and go to the local office of the Catastro (Rates Authorities) to pay if the notification has not arrived. For example, on a typical 1 bedroom apartment in Las Americas, they are approximately €200 each year; on a 3 bedroom apartment in Los Cristianos around €350 per year; while on a 3 bedroom townhouse in Costa Adeje they are €600 per year.

Taxes
For Non Resident property owners there are two taxes payable each year:

- Wealth Tax (Impuesto Sobre el Patrimonio)

- Income Tax (Impuesto Sobre la Renta)

Wealth Tax is calculated on a sliding scale, starting at 2% (which applies to most owners) of either the property's Escritura value or its Valor Catastral (Rateable Value) whichever is highest.

Income Tax is charged at 25% of either 1.1% or 2% (depending on where the property is situated and only applying to those who do not receive any income from their property) of the higher one of either the property's Escritura value or Valor Catastral (Rateable Value). For owners renting out their property, the Tax rate is 25% of the gross rental income.


Corné Schreuder, Sales Director

Advice - Information

When you buy a new (direct from a developer) property in Tenerife, IGIC (VAT) of 5% is payable on the value declared on the Escritura (Title Deeds) and is collected by the developer when signing at Notary. In addition, Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto Sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales) of 0.5% is payable within 30 days of signing (attended to by your Estate Agent or Solicitor).
On resale properties, Tenerife Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto Sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales) is 6.5% and is payable within 30 days of signing (attended to by your Estate Agent or Solicitor).

Notary Fees in Tenerife
The Notary, who prepares the property's Escritura (Title Deeds), is obliged by law to carry out a full search of the property prior to signing it over to the new owner(s). In addition to explaining the process to the prospective owner(s), he will answer any queries on legal matters regarding the purchase. Before you arrive at the Notary, we at Second Home Tenerife will also have undertaken all the searches necessary (such as a mortgage, local rates - rubbish, electric & water and community fees) to ensure that there are no debts or encumbrances registered and that ‘clear title’ is transferred to you on the day of signing.
A Notary’s Fees increase according to the value of the property and the length of the deeds. For example, on a €375,000 property sale, the fee would be approximately €725 (these can vary from one Notary to another). A few days after you sign and pay his Fee, The Notary will provide you with an original copy of the Escritura (Title Deeds)


Land Registry Fees
These also increase according to value, and on the transaction mentioned earlier (€375,000 sale), amount to €600. Land Registry Fees are paid when we collect your original copy of the Title Deeds after registration (which takes at least a month and often more).
In our next Second Home Newsletter, I will give some more information on the costs of owning a property in Tenerife.


Corné Schreuder
Sales Director

Advice - Information

Buying Tenerife property - or property anywhere abroad - can be a nerve-wracking experience. Those who have spent time in Tenerife before returning to their homes in Europe often spend long months dreaming about buying a home in sunny Tenerife before reaching the decision to actually make the move.
 

Decision made, hopeful buyers then arrange a trip to Tenerife and often walk in off the street to the first estate agent office that they find or the one that happens to be closest to their holiday apartment. While some property buyers will be looking to move permanently others simply want to buy a holiday home that they can use for themselves and also let out for an extra income.

The principal reason people give for choosing to buy property in Tenerife is the island’s wonderful year-round climate. Whilst, initially, the property is bought for holiday use, many people also dream that they may one day retire here.
 

Having decided to look into the purchase of a property in Tenerife, usually by studying properties for sale in various Tenerife Estate Agents’ windows, a decision ultimately has to be made about what kind of property to buy, and where to buy. Many first time buyers therefore end up with an apartment near to where they stayed on holiday simply because that’s where the Estate Agent they liked best had their office! Later, these same people often wish they had looked at other locations before 'rushing in'.
 

However, over recent years, ever-increasing numbers of people are buying their properties having first informed them via the internet, following up their initial contact visiting Tenerife to have a look at a number of ‘suitable’ properties before making a decision. This process has become more and more refined over the last 2/3 years with more, and better, sites appearing with built-in Enquiry Forms.
 

We at Secondhome Tenerife will help you to find your dream property in the South of Tenerife. Our website www.secondhometenerife.com will help you to find the property you want in the area you want. In our next newsletter I will explain more about the buying process.


Corné Schreuder
Sales Director