As Valencia continues to grow in terms of its importance for foreign buyers looking to establish residency in Spain we often hear the mantra "We don't do it like this back home" or "Why is this happening? I've bought loads of places back home and it wasn't like this". Get used to it. This isn't back home. This is Spain and things are done differently in the process of buying property here and also of course in many aspects of daily life.
When you are looking to purchase property in Valencia or anywhere else for that matter, the importance of understanding those cultural differences can be critical in getting your purchase over the line because "We don't do it like this back home!" carries no weight with a Spanish seller or indeed with the Spanish system of property purchase. Today therefore it's time to learn about navigating those differences without destroying your potential purchase, get to know the nuances to ensure a smooth process, or even better just rely on our 25 years plus of experience to guide you.
Things You Should Never Do
Before we start to explore cultural differences and how to understand them let's first explain clearly what you should never do. Firstly, never say "It's my final offer take it or leave it". They'll leave it and when you then go back to negotiate some more you find there is nobody on the other side of the table to negotiate with. There should always be wriggle room on the negotiation allowing space to save face, but more of that later.
Secondly, never, but never, send a letter to the seller explaining why you and your family would be such great buyers for the property being sold. Multiply this by ten if that letter includes cutesie family photos and drawings your kids have done. Spanish sellers don't appreciate emotional blackmail, they do appreciate full priced offers and rapid completions.
And finally here for now, never say anything negative about the property to the owner when on a visit, especially about the interior decor or usage of space. Leave that for conversations outside the home later and outside the hearing of the owner.
Understanding Valencia’s Cultural Identity
Valencia has a rich cultural and historical identity which filters into the psyche of Valencians in all aspects of their lives including selling their property. Any place where the sense of tradition, identity, culture and even gastronomy is so strong will always have differences in the nuances of daily life but here in Valencia they are particularly strong.
The Valencian language, a family centric culture, a relaxed pace of life and a strong sense of regional pride underpin everything about the Valencia outlook on life. These elements influence everything to do with day to day living even for those who don't speak Valencian, dislike certain members of their family, never stop spinning plates and dislike certain elements of their region. They can criticize but we as outsiders risk undermining trust if we do.
The Valencian Property Market: A Cultural Perspective
Real estate in Valencia is hard wired into the population just like it is in the rest of Spain. Historically speaking investments in Spain are largely carried out via bricks and mortar. Stocks, shares, bonds, investment funds, funding businesses, crypto and other investments play a much smaller role in the day to day life of Spanish people. Historically one of the reasons for this lies in Spain being an isolated dictatorship in the years from 1939-75 when many of these types of investments were growing in popularity. As Spain opened up in the late 60s and 70s via tourism the major investments were all real estate based.
Equally the role of the family and community in property purchase is important as the bank of mum and dad would often invest in properties in buildings they already lived in so that their family members, usually children, could live cheek by jowl with them even after leaving home. The tendency of children to study at the local university rather than going away to university in other parts of Spain also meant that families stayed close.
Property law in Spain is also understood well and people see property as a solid investment long-term as in their lived experience since the 1970s after the dictatorship it has been one of the areas most resistant to economic blips. Even after the huge price drops post the 2008 financial crisis as long as properties were rented out the drop in value didn't affect those "investors" who were in no need to sell. They just sat on their properties taking in rent and waited for prices to rise again while at the same time picking up "Bargains" from banks, developers and those who needed to sell to increase their portfolio value.
As property here is 99% freehold (or shared freehold in apartment blocks) it is understood that if you own property then you also own the land it stands on unlike in certain other countries where leasehold is more common. What is understood is that land holds value and land in the most in-demand areas holds value even better.
There are glitches and worries of course that limit this understanding such as the rights of squatters and sitting tenants but in general people "understand" property in the way that they maybe don't understand other types of investment.
Navigating Language and Cultural Barriers
One of the things we do well in Valencia Property is to help you bridge the gap in language and culture that being a foreign buyer coming to Valencia brings. Whether that barrier is with the agents, the developers or the sellers we understand not only what is said but also how it is said and what is actually meant. Reading between the lines of a conversation if you like.
The importance of speaking the language of a seller cannot be overstated. Hiring bilingual professionals (real estate agents, lawyers, notaries) to assist with transactions is also crucial. However, hiring the wrong people just because they speak your language is also a dangerous faux pas. We know of various lawyers for example who despite speaking English do not understand the mindset of English speaking buyers and haven't got a clue about the cultural background of their potential clients so cannot understand when the client doesn't get what is happening and why. If you want you can ask us which lawyers we won't recommend before contracting anyone. There are so many misunderstandings that can occur when cultural and language differences are not noticed because the way things work in Spain is so different to other countries.
For effective communication with sellers, developers, banks, notaries and others involved in the process of buying property in Valencia you need people who have done it hundreds and thousands of times before like us here at Valencia Property. Why? Well, read on.
Cultural Etiquette in Business and Negotiations
One of the most important aspects of doing any business in Spain is the importance of building personal relationships before discussing that business. "Let's get straight to the point" is not really a Spanish cultural norm. As a buyer of Spanish property you are meeting everyone for the first time. It is better to leverage the relationships built up over years by companies like ours where we are on easy speaking and friendly terms with everyone involved in the property purchase process. The selling agent for example will let the seller know that "We have worked with these people lots and they know what they are doing and don't mess people around" and the seller as a result feels better disposed to our clients than someone turning up out of the blue or a new kid on the block.
You also need to understand the concept of “mañana” (a relaxed approach to time) in negotiations. Don't expect an immediate answer especially when there are various parties involved. The seller may have to speak to the family and this might be done over a paella at the weekend rather than NOW! Other conversations may need to happen in person rather than via phone calls and text messages as a gesture of good faith and social connection rather than because it is needed that way.
And most impotantly as mentioned earlier the negotiation style is important: indirect communication and the importance of saving face are key. If you back a Spanish seller into a corner with only one option they will choose the other option of not answering at all. Getting ghosted in a property purchase scanario is not what you want. The role of formalities and politeness in business interactions are key.
Legal and Administrative Differences
We have written about the key legal considerations for foreign buyers: residency requirements, taxes, fees etc in many previous articles and we have also written specifically about the role of the notary recently. The notary is key in the Spanish property purchase framwork because they are the final arbiter that everything has been done correctly to allow the transfer of ownership over to the buyer.
Having been through the process of a property purchase and sale in the UK I think I can safely say that there are cultural differences in paperwork and bureaucracy. Here in Spain patience and persistence are key but everything that is being done is visible. Therefore it may seem that things are moving slowly but they are usually moving. Due diligence by lawyers, surveys or inspections, valuations, mortgage offers, setting a date for final signing at the notary and more take their time but can be seen to be happening. That is not so much the case in the UK and other parts of the World. I think the Spanish system is excellent if infuriating at times but we navigate it seamlessly because here at Valencia Property we know it so well.
There are many common pitfalls that you can fall into if you do not know the system so once again we cannot emphasize too much that the team you have around you working with you is key in order to avoid those problems. We have the best and most experienced team in the Valencia property market.
Practical Tips for Foreign Buyers
Just a few practical tips here that you may need to think about. Remember that the whole of this blog site has hundreds of them in our many blog posts so use us and this site as your encyclopaedia for buying property in Valencia.
As a foreign buyer by definition you do not know Valencia in the way you might know where you are coming from. Researching neighbourhoods and understanding local amenities in those neighbourhoods is key. We have written a guide about that, which you can find on the blog, all about the different areas of Valencia both inside and outside the city.
Many people feel it is necessary to visit Valencia multiple times before making a purchase and this may be true for many. Nevertheless if the city or area feels right for you then it may take many fewer visits to accustom yourself to it and to know the area that you want to be in.
One thing you must remember is to budget for additional costs (e.g., community fees, maintenance etc) when buying because you might know the cost of living here in Valencia, which we have recently written about, but there may be other monthly or yearly costs in your particular case.
You should also be leveraging expat communities and online resources for support both before, during and after your purchase here in Valencia. And remember once here you can be useful for others looking to make the move here too by participating in those communities.
Conclusions
This article touches on our experience and knowledge of the cultural and to a certain extent language differences which we can find in the Valencia Property market but there are so many more. Every purchase process is a learning experience for us as well as you. No two purchases are the same. Lean on us for help in navigating this cultural minefield when looking to buy property in Valencia. There is no company with an equivalent experience and knowledge of the market willing to give you so much information for free via our blogs, podcasts and client meetings. We do it for one reason to make you choose us as your partner when buying property in Valencia. Contact us and let's start the process together of finding you your ideal Valencia Property. Read the article here and fill in the form and we can start work together.
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