Hi, How came UK agencies still advertise swiss properties 4 sale in Valais when there aren't permits for foreign buyers? How do they get around this, waiting list??
Hi The canton has on its side made up in December 2005 a working group which has just presented his report/ratio on the control of the development of the second homes.More than 1' 000 files are on the waitinglist on the whole of the canton on the basis of legislation relating to the acquisition of buildings by people abroad. Were worth it annually has 310 units for the residences of holidays and the units in apparthôtels. This measurement has as a top priority to limit in the medium term the legal insecurity reigning between the moment of the stipulation of the notarial act and that of its inscription to the Land register For some places like Verbier, Grimentz, Hérémence, Nendaz, Riddes, Val d'Illiez et Veysonnaz the waitinglist is more than 3 years and that’s why there is a buying stop for these places in 2007 for foreigners for new homes.
No, no NO! What on earth are you going on about Orca? And your text reads like a machine translation of French into English. Cantons ARE awarding licences and ARE actively interested in attracting foreign buyers. I was in the 4 valleys LAST WEEK and there were at least FOUR English people I met in the same restaurant as we eat in, who were finalising purchases.
Let's be clear about this - there is no stop on foreigners buying, except in a few locations as imposed by the local Commune. There is a switch in the licensing process, where the Valaisian Cantons are giving priority to clearing the backlog of licenses first, before approving new ones. i.e. shortening the waiting lists.
Of course, there's not a completely laissez-faire approach to foreign ownership: just that it's wrong to suggest that there is an embargo - there isn't.
You can - as we did - buy an existing property from a foreign owner and just transfer the license. But if you opt for off-plan or new buld then, yes, you will have to wait for your license - Possibly for a few years, but Swiss policy has always been to prevent short-term re-sales, for example, by tailing-off CGT after 5 years. This is just an additional mechanism to deter speculative investment.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by msej449: Dave , I think you don’t understand me clearly. I haven ‘t mentioned that there is an embargo I have bought myself an appartment in Haute Nendaz one year ago and I am very sure that this is good investment when you like Switzerland like me. I have travelled all over Switzerland during the last five years and I know the regions very well.The question here was How came UK agencies still advertise swiss properties 4 sale in Valais when there aren't permits for foreign buyers? How do they get around this, waiting list?? And when you really know the situation very good than you must be correct and say there is backlog of more than 1000 licences in the Valais and the fact there is now a moratorium for foreignes for 2007 and maybe for another year for new homes in the 7 communes mentioned before. There is indeed the exception for buyers of plans who came through before 2007 and it is correct there are still a lot of these projects thus in fact you can still buy but .... the canton wants warm beds in the future and that is the difference between now and the past. What we will see in the future in the Valais is that it is still be possible to buy as foreigner as you buy warm beds and that is good for the tourism in the Valais and for the economy. Off course you can still buy an appartment from an foreigner who has a permit !!!
Hi. I am currently on the waiting list for a permit in one of the Valais alpine villages with a moratorium. Currently been waiting 19 months. Our solicitor advised us "maybe 06, more likely 07". We are buying from a Swiss owner. I know of a number of British buyers who have successfully signed up for a new build property in our village. I know of one who now signed a contract last year and took delivery in December 06. I heard that this was easily achieved because those newbuild properties had pre-approved permits. Since then I know of at least 2 more British buyers signing up this summer for completion in December 07. Clearly there are ways around the closure of the list, and AFAICT it's due to each builder planning ahead with the Canton. Prices seem to be rising quite sharply, with the reduction in availability of property.
+ Do you think it will happen? + What do you think the timeline will be? + Do you think the Cantons will enforce their rules in place of the Lex Koller??
For Valais, I'm expecting it will take several years to get new legislation working. They may go for a referendum, since it will affect many Swiss resident in the Canton. The Lex Koller legislation has always had a limited lifespan AFAIK. I'm expecting a conservative approach to building and permit issues to be maintained. Of course, I would be surprised and delighted if I read that permit restrictions are to be lifted immediately, and we get to complete on our used property
I'm sure there must be more legal ways to get a B Permit. You may want to have a search through English Forum-Switzerland. They have a section for Permits questions, plus links to the official Swiss sites. http://www.englishforum.ch/
Do any of the owners of Valais property know when the purchase permits get issued pl? Are they issued at the start of the year? I know the allocation for the Valais is 310, but do those permits all get issued to folk on the waiting list at the same time?
Hi Ski fan, we are having a chalet built in La Tzoumaz, the schedule worked like this for us: 1.Signed to buy the land May 05; 2.Meeting of the Commission 06.01.06, permit no. of 2006 issued; 3. Registered at Service Juridique du Registre Foncier in Sion on 16.01.06; 4. building started July 07 as we have had a few hold ups with the builder (what's new); 5. Roof on later this month; 6. completion November 07.
I know they issued permits in January 07 as 2 guys having places built by our builder got their permits then and our builds are all going ahead at the same time. I guess the next tranche will be issued Jan 08 to catch up the existing backlog.
Good luck with it! I'm sure you're right and the 4 Vallees are going to be a good investment.
Hi Ruddsy, thanks for the info, looks like you have had quite a wait too. If your schedule goes to plan, you will have completed before I do. The place I'm buying is an older property, so it's looking like I'll be in the same position as last winter (and the one before), as a rental customer. Good luck, and don't forget to top out your roof once it's finished Oooh, to have the job as permits clerk in Valais
Just back from La Tzoumaz, we were advised that the period of time that you have to hold the property from permit issue has reduced from 10 years back to 5 years. The general consensus was that the backlog would take another 2 years to resolve, i.e. 2008 & 2009 quota would have to be issued before admitting new people to the list - it's driving up prices if nothing else!
Hi All - Been reading the above posts with interest. We got involved last March with buying a new apartment in Clarens (next to Montreux), but backed out when the financial figures became clear.
The apartment was virtually complete. Because of the delay caused by the quota system, which would have meant it would be at least 12 months before we actually owned the property, the builder wanted to let the property after finishing. We were given the option of becoming the tenants, but the matter of parting with the deposit money plus twelve months' rent before we would own the place put us off.
What do purchasers do? Surely vendors are entitled to expect their money if a purchase is agreed, but foreign purchasers don't want to put money up front for nothing while they wait.
Hi ChrisC Welcome The permit's backlog problem is one that's a regular discussion for buyers and Estate Agents alike. I believe that you have been looking in Vaud?, whereas most of the current issues relate to Valais. I can only speak from my personal experience. Our seller, is prepared to wait to sell to a foreigner. Currently he has been waiting almost 2 years. We were required to pay over 50% of the money to the Notary,at signing, which is in Escrow, I think?? that the Seller gets the miniscule interest on this as compensation for waiting.
We could have chosen to pay an extra sum over to the Seller to get the keys and access at contract signing time. Our solicitor advised against it, as it was outside of any contract. We would have had access, bills, income from rental,the works, but absolutely no rights whatsoever. I do have a friend who has been able to take possession of his new apartment, but as the permit is not through, he cannot get his mortgage released. Chicken and egg time. The builder seems to have stepped forward as a sort of guarantor in this situation. "Our place" is in one of the Communes affected by the Moratorium in Valais. There is a superb cartoon over on Immobilia Grimentz website, showing the communes affected as Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs,playing Monopoly (Moritopoly), the commentary translates roughly as "The rules of the game change as it progresses" Looks like they are as fed up as the buyers. Stuff may be happening this/next month, TopperT will have news as he is close to the action.
The Canton of Valais have amended the Lex Koller law, just as TopperT said they would. You can read it on the Immobilia Grimentz site, and get an English(ish) translation if you use google to translate the page. If I have done my sums correctly, it will be entirely possible to be on the permit list for 15.1 years, as from 23/11/07 most of the permit allocation will go elsewhere and only 66 permits per year will go towards clearing the existing list. To say that I'm depressed is an understatement. I'm really hoping our permit comes next year,(2 year wait) or we may just give up at the 3 year stage and buy in another country
After the introduction of the new Valais legislation under Lex Koller, we decided to grab the bull by the horns, and write directly to the canton to ask when we would be issued a permit. We were quite surprised to get a response!
Their email told us that our permit would be issued the following week. Sent it on to our solicitor who had then heard nothing, but about 10 days later we had notification to send the remaining 50% of the funds. We had also copied the email to our Estate Agent, who responded that our application was dealt dealt with as a priority, hmmmmm One of the cc's on the email, was the "architect" of the new legislation!
Now we are back in limbo, we have paid all the money over, and apparently have to wait for the canton to decide if they want to contest the issue of the permit.
We are now in year 3 of being on "the list". It's a bit of a rollercoaster ride
We just completed Still waiting for Cadastral Registration, but just been able to reserve my 1st week in "our" place as an owner. This process has taught me that, for Switzerland, I have really had to pester everyone involved for information. Our representative's, that is, Estate Agent, Lawyer, Notary etc, just don't give out updates. I found out that we completed by sending a priority email to the Lawyer, who tells me that the place is now uninsured Well, Helloooo, a date would have been useful!!!
So, we now have a place with an Etrangere Permit in one of the Valais alpine villages...and no money!
Still waiting for Cadastral Registration, but just been able to reserve my 1st week in "our" place as an owner.
