Fincas, land and building plots in Tenerife.

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Rural property and Land for sale

A dream house in Tenerife for many people would be a finca set in the hills above the tourist area with views down to the coast, looking out over the sea from the front of the property, with perhaps from the rear, views up over the forests to the snow clad peak of mount Teide outlined against the cerulean blue sky. Fincas in Tenerife such as this are virtually impossible to find or if found (there are several seemingly abandoned houses that would fit the bill) are not available for a variety of reasons. To understand why these houses sit derelict and forlornly crying out for someone to lavish money and tender loving care upon their fragile, potentially beautiful structures we need to understand something of the history and the laws regarding property in Tenerife.

In the not very distant past many people did not register their property (it had been in the family for generations and everyone knew who owned it) or if they did it was very often registered as being smaller than the actual size to avoid paying wealth taxes. Many of these potential opportunities to acquire beautiful plots of house and land in Tenerife have disputed multiple ownership, with some of the claimants living abroad. The process of resolving ownership and of obtaining legal title deeds is lengthy, time consuming and expensive with no guarantee of the desired result.

Another large contributory factor in the problem of unused property in Tenerife is the Spanish law concerning inheritance; whereas in the United Kingdom a person can leave his or her property (with certain allowances for the surviving spouse) to whomever or whatever cause he or she desires. In Spain one must, by law, leave one third of one’s estate to be equally divided amongst all one’s offspring. Bearing in mind that this is a roman catholic country and that until very recent times, large families were the norm rather than the exception, then one can begin to understand the problems and complexities of getting say ten brothers and sisters to agree, in the first place to sell and in the second, to agree a price at which the property can be sold.

History tells us that before tourism really made an impact on life and property in Tenerife, many families were so poor with no prospect of work that often all but the eldest son were sent off with ‘steerage’ one way tickets to places such as Cuba, Venezuela and many other South American countries, these young men were expected to make a living for themselves and wherever possible send part of their wages back to Tenerife to help their families. To those that became successful, ending up with their own farms or businesses abroad and who only return for holidays or family occasions, the idea of selling their ancestral home no matter how small or impoverished cannot be accepted, it’s their connection to ‘home’.

Having killed off your hopes of finding that elusive little finca in Tenerife, apart from the rare occasion when an already restored version comes onto the market, (at a price!) how then is anyone going to obtain a ‘normal’ house in Tenerife. Occasionally someone will build a house ‘on spec’ and offer it to the public; usually once planning permission is given the builder will offer the completed house for sale through a number of agents before the first brick is laid. This imparts a certain amount of risk for the buyer as stage payments have to be made, its Hobsons choice, either risk your money or more than likely lose the opportunity of buying the house to someone who is willing to risk their money.