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It appears many people have "come short" buying property in Spain either through fraud, negligence, ignorance etc. Therefore:
1) What are the essential items to check/verify when acquiring property ?
2) What are the main pitfalls/scams to watch out for ?
3) Any other advice to avoid disappointment/losses ?
Harry
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Hi Harry
DO NOT BUY A PROPERTY:
1. Off plan ; there are very many resells available with all the snags done and paperwotrk in place where you see what you buy
2. From an owner not in possesion of the Escritura
3. Without your solicitor obtains all the liceneces for any work completed together with a document confirming no debts for Community fees or utility charges
4. On an estate that has incomplete infrastructure in particular roads, electricity, water and sewage.
ALWAYS:
Talk to local English speakers who live whre you are looking to buy, they will know of any doubts, shortcomings, ongoing difficultiesand in particular Infrstructure problems, speak with a cross section because there are as always some that will whinge about anything but you will get best insight into the urbanisation or community that you are considering....and the costs associated if it is a formal community.
Good luck and don't let the shock horror cases put you off what is a lovely lifestyle in a lovely country, you have made the best start by looking for advice, stick by that principle to help you decide and then find a good solicitor that comes recomended and be very strict with them allowing no shortcuts.
Regards
Barry
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Many thanks Barry.
One question if you do not mind - is there some way to double check Item 3 ?
Cheers,
Harry
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If you buy on an Urbanisation where community fees are paid tell your solicitor to get a certificate from the Community secretary / president confirming Community fees paid to date.
Re Utilities ensure there are contracts with the water and electricity companies in place, if not request from the seller the reasons why and confirmation that there are no outstanding debts in these areas. If you are not happy ask your solicitor to hopld a retention until you get connected and are sure there are no debts.
Regardsand good luck
Barry
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Two practical suggestions - thanks again.
I assume the "horror stories" are partly attributable to people acquiring land without building permits despite - assurance by local authorities !!!
Harry
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Harry, Harry, Harry ....... Yes there are horror stories, yes it's gone wrong for some folks, but look at the hundreds of thousands of people who simply came out, narrowed down their areas of preference, viewed some houses, did a bit of common sense checking, bought one, and live in it. THAT is actually the most common scenario, not the problems we always hear about. The main problems are financial, or legal. So Q1 should be "Can l afford this?" including the ongoing monthly expenses. Q2 should be "Am l buying a legal house with all its paperwork in place?" If the answer to both those is yes, then go for it. If not, don't. I fear you are worrying too much! You do need a degree of adventure .....
_______________________
Blog about settling into a village house in the Axarquía. http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/tamara.aspx
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Not "worrying" at all my Dear Friend !
In fact, can't wait to get to Spain next year & start enjoying everything ie based on reasonable preparation.
Cheers,
Harry
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What I would add is ..STAY AWAY...from large expat areas with the associated illegal building problems. It is a legal requirement now that REA,s have all the required paperwork before a property is marketed. Ask on forums ,when you ŷou find your desired place, to check if there are any problems re legality in the area. No such animal as a conveyancing lawyer in Spain consequently checks are not thorough. There are plenty more places where there hasn,t been corruption by mayors and their cronies regarding licences than the latter so no-one now should fall into the traps of 6 years ago. Legal new builds ,under construction, WILL always have the official paperwork in full view of everyone. Finally....there is no rush. Property prices are certainly not going up in the immediate future.
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Hi Harry,
Looking through the forum, I came acrros your post: "Purchasing a propery -What are te essentials and the pitfalls"
Everybody who commented below, are right. Especially Barry with his 4 points which you have to be aware before you buy. When I bought our holiday home, these were the fore point which we used to make sure that we wont be disipointed and we was not. Unfortunatlly I have have to sell our holiday hame, personal reason. Our holiday home is just outside Lloret de Mar near Barcelona.
If you are intrested in that area please let me know and I will send you a link with photos of the house.
All the best
Evelina
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Hi Harry
See my recent Forum Post for more answers.
http://www.eyeonspain.com/forums/posts-long-16993.aspx
Regards
_______________________
Nigel
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Thanks Nigel.
These links are informative.
Cheers,
Harry
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'arry (sorry for that thinking of Redknap taking over at QPR (that's football related if anyone is any doubt))
Fighter 2 has pretty much given you all the answers - read and read again.
Do your homework. reseach, research, and more research. and don't get greedy. Ask yourself this, would i give a hundred grand to a builder who promises to build a wonderful place for me to live, Even though he hasn't laid a brick yet !! some did and now they are blaming everybody else because the builder has run off with their money.
Ask yourself this, is my lawer looking like he could empty his office overnight - with my money !
And don't blame the banks if you take out a mortgage that you can't afford - even if you lose your job. The banks never gave anyone a mortgage, they offered them and people accepted them, with open arms.
Harsh my friend, but if you do things properly out here (including paying your taxes ) then it's a wonderful country to live in.
Floella, "stay away from large expat community's" Well WE live in one (on the Costa del Sol, not far from calahonda) and it's wonderful especially if you haven't mastered the language yet (if anyone ever does ! ) great beaches, great restuarants, lots of things to do and see, great infrastructure, roads, railways, bus's
Just always do your research.
That should do it.
Good luck 'Arry
Edited because of "typos"
This message was last edited by CostaBlade on 26/11/2012.
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CostaBlade, If you care to read my post correctly I wrote ...... "STAY AWAY from large expat areas with the associated ILLEGAL building problems" If an urbanisation is legal then there isn't a problem just highlighting that not ALL are.
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Hello Harry,
If you're thinking of buying on the Costa del Sol I can out you in touch with a small business that can help you avoid the many problems related to purchasing a property in Spain. They go way beyond what a lawyer might do for you and they take a fee as a percentage of the money they save you between the asking price and the final price that they negotiate for you - so, theoretically, it doesn't cost you anything. They only operate on the Costa del Sol though. So if you're looking somewhere else then they can't help.
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Bede
Who is this company you recommend I would like to check them out
Have they done work specifically for you if not what examples do you have
Thanks Rod
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"take a fee as a percentage of the money they save you between the asking price and the final price that they negotiate for you"
Why pay (& outsource control to "strangers") when I can negotiate a better deal myself ???
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Because you probably can't get the same deal because you may not be able to speak Spanish (the sellers are most likely Spanish); you can't understand the land registry information (in Spanish - you can get it translated but you'd still need quite a good grasp of Spanish property law to understand it); you don't know the market, so you don't know how much a similar property might actually be worth; you can't find out why the seller is selling; you can't approach the seller's (Spanish) bank to see if you can force a better deal if the seller is in financial difficulties; you can't tell a good Spanish lawyer from a bad one; etc...Plus they also investigate lots of aspects of the property that your lawyer doesn't. They negotiate the price as though a Spaniard was buying the property, their chief negotiator is Spanish. Now, I'm sure you appreciate that the simple matter of being a foreigner in Spain, or any other country, puts the price up?
Anyway, I got the above from the company I mentioned. But I only know of them since my sister used them and they got 30,000 euros off the asking price - on an apartment originally advertised as being 'reduced to 180,000 euros'. She paid them 20% of the money saved and was very happy...They had also previously warned her off another property that she liked but was very near to where some anti-social people were housed....nobody tells you things like that when you buy - least of all the Estate Agent! And definitely not your lawyer.
Anyway, if you think you can negotiate the same deal then you're probably better off doing it yourself as you wouldn't be happy paying them - as your reply indicates.
Best of luck on your search.
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Bede I know it pays to advertise but this is blatant try on !
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Well, they said their best publicity was word of mouth so I'm just passing on the information..........just as I would if someone asked me for a good car mechanic or a plumber. I can't see anything wrong with that. My sister was happy with the deal and her reasons to use them seemed sound. It looked ok to me, I've lived in Spain for several years, and when I met them they seemed like nice people. If Harry thinks he can do it better by himself then I think he should do that.........Maybe he's right, maybe he could get the same price on his own, maybe better, so why take the risk involving strangers?.....Anyway, limiting Spain to just the Costa del Sol is a bit restrictive, isn't it? But Harry's original thread was how can he avoid the pitfalls of purchasing in Spain and this seemed, so far, to have worked for someone I know.
Maybe you think I've got another interrst in advertising these people? But if you read carefully I haven't said who they are or how to contact them. Nor would I do that as I don't have permission to put their details on a public website.
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