Buying a Property in Morocco - Your essential guide to purchasing, letting, selling and living in the world's hottest new destination.

248 Pages·2008·2.25 MB·English

by  Leaonne Hall

Other Living and Working Abroad titles
from How To Books
Live and Work in Turkey
France: A Handbook for New Residents
Live and Work in Brazil
Live and Work in France
Live and Work in Greece
For full details, please send for a free copy of the
latest catalogue to:
How To Books
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road, Begbroke
Oxford OX5 1RX, United Kingdom
infoVhowtobooks.co.uk
www.howtobooks.co.uk
Published by How To Content,
A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road,
Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RX, United Kingdom.
Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone].
info_howtobooks.co.uk
www.howtobooks.co.uk

How To Books greatly reduce the carbon footprint of their books by
sourcing their typesetting and printing in the UK.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an
information retrieval system (other than for purposes of review) without the
express permission of the publisher in writing.

The right of Leaonne Hall to be identified as the author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.

@ 2008 Leaonne Hall

First published in electronic form 2008

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 184803 264 4

Cover design by Baseline Arts Ltd, Oxford
Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock, Devon
Typeset by TW Typesetting, Plymouth, Devon

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for
general guidance and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred
as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the
book. The laws and regulations are complex and liable to change, and
readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities before
making personal arrangements.
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xi
Country fact file xiii
1 Introduction to Morocco 1
Buying abroad and what it can offer 1
Why buy in Morocco? 3
A brief history of Morocco 7
Politics and economy 11
Geography and population 13
Climate 15
Religion 16
Language 18
Food and drink 18
The culture shock 21
Morocco’s tourist development 24
Getting there, flights and airports 25
2 What to buy in Morocco 29
Old properties and renovations 30
New properties and developments 34
Land and rural properties 42
3 Where to buy in Morocco 47
An overview of the property market 47
Morocco’s regions 52
v
BUYING A PROPERTY IN MOROCCO
Property focus: The Atlantic coast 54
Property focus: Fès 58
Property focus: Casablanca 63
Property focus: Marrakesh 72
Property focus: Essaouira 78
Property focus: Atlas Mountains and ski resorts 83
Property focus: Saïdia and Mediterranean coast 86
Property focus: Rabat and Salé 93
Property focus: Agadir and surrounds 95
Property focus: Tangier 101
Property focus: Plan Azur resorts 105
4 Finding a home 108
Fixing your budget 108
Researching the purchase 111
Finding an estate agent 113
Factors to consider when choosing a location 116
Trying before you buy 119
5 Finance and taxation 121
Financing your purchase 121
Opening a bank account 126
Moroccan taxes 128
6 The buying process 135
Differences between the buying process in Morocco
and the UK 135
Surveys and inspections 137
The buying procedure: the basic steps to buying
a property 138
Buying land 145
Buying a new build 147
Buying multiple properties 149
Final checklist 149
vi
CONTENTS
7 Letting your property 151
Buy-to-let properties 151
Short- or long-term? 153
The importance of location 155
Setting a price 157
Furnishing the property 158
Marketing 159
Using a management company 161
Legal issues 162
8 Building and renovating 163
Obtaining a building permit 163
VAT 165
Renovating 165
Building 166
Employing professionals 167
9 Relocating yourself and your family 171
Visas, residency and permits 171
Removals 175
Importing your car 176
Taking your pets 177
Relocating with your family 178
Relocation checklist 178
10 Living in Morocco 183
Daily life and people 183
Cost of living 184
Utilities 184
Insurance 189
Healthcare 189
Working and the work ethic 190
Starting a business in Morocco 191
Benefits and social security payments 193
Retirement 194
vii
BUYING A PROPERTY IN MOROCCO
Education 195
Driving and buying a car 197
Getting around 198
Learning the language 199
Shopping 200
Post 202
Crime 202
Appendices
Appendix 1 Directory of useful contacts 205
Appendix 2 Moroccan property matrix 216
Appendix 3 Useful information 221
Appendix 4 Glossary and useful phrases 224
Index 231
viii
Acknowledgements
My thanks go to Mark Wheatley for all his help and support
throughout this project. I would also like to thank Loïc Raboteau
and the team at The International Property Law Centre, and
Matthew Weston and the team at Blevins Frank for all the
information and help they supplied. Thanks also go to Frances
McKay at estate agents Francophiles, Adam Cornwell of GEM
Estates, Peter Weedon and Steve Burns of Compass Properties, and
to Sarah Chambers of holiday-rentals.co.uk. Heartfelt thanks also
go to Nathalie Roberts for checking my school-girl French!
ix