Lecrin Valley Property, Orgiva Properties, Lanajron Property
Top tips to help you buy safely in Spain
Here we take a quick look at some of the top tips to help you buy a property safely in Spain and to spot the types of property agents that you should avoid.
Tip 1 – Ensure you know exactly what you are buying! Do you fully understand the different types of legal property that you can buy in Spain? You may be told that the property is legal but it could be a nave, a nave apperos or a vivienda . It’s vital that you fully understand the difference between these. If you do not understand the difference between these, then it is very important to ask for more information from a trusted and professionally registered agent. This will help ensure you have a full understanding. It is quite easy for someone to tell you that the building is legal without describing what it is legal for. If you are wishing to live in the property full time then this becomes even more important. If you are looking for a townhouse then understanding the relationship between the Registro and the catastral is extremely important as well. These two should not be confused with each other and they are very different when it comes to the legalities of a property.
Tip 2. – Ensure that the agent you are dealing with is a professionally registered agent. In Spain real estate is an unlicensed practice. This means that anyone can become a real estate agent with no training or understanding of the legalities in the marketplace. I would always advise only dealing with someone who is a member of a professional trade body such as SIRA or Realtor. This gives you the confidence that you are dealing with a professionally registered agent who also subscribes to a code of ethics. This will give you the confidence you need to know that you are not dealing with a potentially dodgy agent or an agent who is likely to fall into the stereotypes and tell you anything they think you want to hear in order to sell you a property.
Tip 3 – Check out the agent’s social media pages. Are they freely giving information to help you with your purchase and providing free advice before they have even met you? If an agent is only advertising sell, sell, sell on their social media pages. Maybe just a list of Properties for Sale, this will give you a good indication that you’re going to smell their commission breath very soon! Professional agents who are providing you with free information to help you learn and understand the marketplace and protect yourself before you have even met them will often be the agents who are willing to help you in an honest and professional manner.
Tip 4 – Look at the type of marketing the agent does. If you see poor-quality marketing, then think about how this could affect your future purchase. For example, if they can’t even be bothered to take a decent photo, lift the shutters up or open the curtains, that can give you an indication of how thorough they will be when checking the legal documents for your property. If the agent is advertising with poor quality marketing this can only mean that they don’t have any attention to detail when it comes to the important things such as the legal documents. I would not walk away from an agent like this, instead, I would run as fast as I can.
Tip 5 – What legal documents are available? Any good agent will be doing their due diligence on the properties that they have for sale before making them available to the public market. This means that they should already have the following documents available. The Nota Simple, this is a brief version of the deeds and contains a description of the registered property and details of any charges against the property. Details from the Cadastral. This does not describe the legal position of the property, only the taxable situation. This will help to spot any anomalies between the Registro and the Cadastral. An energy performance certificate, this is a legal requirement to market a property. This should be available or at least instructed as soon s the property is available for sale. They should also be able to tell you the exact legal position of the property and any potential discrepancies or difficulties with the purchase. If when you ask for any of this information they are remotely vague in their answers or try to say that they are not needed or any other thing that should raise alarm bells with you! Again, do not walk away run as fast as you can.
These are just some brief clues to help you buy a property safely in Spain there are many other things to look out for as well but without making this article long exhaustive these are the top tips you should know. To find out more or to ask for free advice help and information do not hesitate to get in touch or visit our website to download our free e-books which will help explain this in more detail.
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