Buyer´s guide
Things to bear in mind.
The decision to purchase a property can be motivated by different reasons, mainly: permanent housing, second residence, investment or work.
In this guide we are going to focus on the acquisition of housing to live in, either permanently or as a second home.
A good recommendation is to have a valuation of the property you have visited to find out if its price is in line with the market or if it is cheaper or more expensive than the average. To do this we recommend that you visit our valuations page by clicking on the button below:
Buying a property can pose serious problems for buyers if a few things are not taken into account, this can mean that in the end you are not happy with your property or that you lose a lot of money because of problems that you did not know or could not detect before the purchase.
We will divide the information into two parts, one personal and the other more legal.
1. Personal
Before buying a property we first recommend that you visit many properties because, even if you think you know what you want, this will make you look more closely at the details that you may have overlooked before.
We assume that most people know what their approximate budget is, know the costs of the purchase (taxes, registration, notary, agency, etc., approx. 10-15% of the price), they have already made some arrangements with the bank for the mortgage in case they need it (normally they will not give you more than 80% of the value, so you will have to have 30-35% saved), they know the characteristics of the property they are looking for, such as: type of property (flat, house, townhouse), geographical location, size, bedrooms, bathrooms, reformed or to be reformed, installations, parking space, lift, etc.
We recommend not only to look at the property but also at the area because we consider that it is almost as important to be comfortable in your home as in the area where your home is located. This is very personal because everyone gives importance to different things, for example, in the acquisition of a first residence you will value things like the services of the area (hospitals, supermarkets, playgrounds, schools, security, shopping centres, bakery, etc.) and in the case of a second residence you will value other things (near the mountains, beach, tranquillity, restaurants, etc.).
Finally, once we have the candidate property or properties, we recommend being exhaustive in their inspection and valuation. By this we mean visiting it several times, showing it to family or friends so that they can give us their opinion, checking that the installations work (air conditioning, heating, electricity, plumbing, windows and doors, etc.), the structure (are there cracks?) and also the surroundings (can you hear noise? visit it at different times of the day), what is the community like (is it clean? Is everything in good condition? Does the lift work? Is it noisy? Can you hear the neighbours a lot? etc.) and the construction quality of the building and the interior of the property.
2. Legal
This part is the most complicated for people with no previous knowledge.
The first thing to check is a current nota simple (extract from the land registry). Here we can find out if the seller is the registered owner of the property and if there are any restrictions on his rights or if there are any encumbrances affecting the property. It is important to make sure of the registration status of the property.
Subsequently, it is necessary to check if there are any debts with the community of owners and the town hall and for this we will ask for the corresponding certificates.
With regard to the community of owners, it is advisable to check the minutes of the last meetings to see if there have been any approved payments pending payment.
Ask for the energy efficiency certificate, although it will not provide you with much information if you are not an expert, it is a mandatory document.
Ask for the renewed certificate of habitability (not compulsory for the purchase but highly recommended).
Check at the town hall to see if there are any urban planning infringement proceedings (especially for houses and even more so if they are old).
Check if the building has passed or will soon have to pass the ITE (technical inspection of buildings).
Try to get plans of the house.
Check the bills and/or supply contracts (water, electricity, gas).
If applicable, check if the property has a holiday rental licence.
This documentation will be different if purchasing a newly built property.
Conclusion:
It is very important to take many things into account and this is why in most cases it is advisable to have an experienced person by your side to accompany you throughout the whole process. This information is only prior to saying “YES, WE’LL TAKE IT!” then comes the whole buying process which also has complications and things to take into account.
The important thing when buying is to have knowledge on the subject and surely if you are reading this post is because you do not have it, so we recommend you to have a professional in the real estate sector by your side in the process, either an agency that you trust or a lawyer or specialized manager, sometimes cheap is expensive.
For more information or if you have any doubts, please contact us without any obligation, even if you have already found your ideal flat with or without an agency.
*The content of this guide is only informative and has no legal value, each case is different and we always recommend to be advised by an expert.