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You are here: Home Housing Buying 10 things to know before buying a house in Spain

18/11/200810 things to know before buying a house in Spain

House-hunting in Spain can be complex. Sandra Piddock points out 10 traps you could possibly fall into.

More and more people are buying a home in Spain, whether as a retirement home, holiday home or investment. With prices falling daily as people panic over the credit crunch and the weakness of sterling against the euro, now is a good time to buy, but hey, - be careful out there!
 
Here’s my personal top 10 of things to watch out for to ensure your property buying experience goes to plan.
 
1.         Anyone can set up as an estate agent in Spain, as there is little or no regulation. Choose a long-established agent who has a reputation to uphold. Every day, inexperienced and unscrupulous agents are closing for business. You don’t want anyone to disappear with your dreams and your cash, do you? Ensure your agent is fluent in Spanish, so there are no nasty surprises in store.
  
2.         Choose an independent lawyer. (Abogado)

 Your agent may make recommendations, but an independent lawyer will make serving your interests his only concern. 

Your lawyer should also ensure that you receive translations of all documents connected with the purchase. DON’T CONSIDER COMPLETING THE PURCHASE WITHOUT A LAWYER.
  
3.         Unless you’ve set your heart on a shiny new build, don’t buy off plan at the moment. Several builders have gone out of business, and even the well established ones have curtailed their building until things improve. You could be waiting years for your home in the sun.
 
Photo by RinzeWind at Flickr
4.         If you do buy off plan, ensure your builder is well established. NEVER BUY FROM A BUILDER WHOSE HEAD OFFICE IS A PORTAKABIN. It’s likely he hasn’t bothered to obtain all the necessary building permissions, and by the time you find out, he’ll be miles away with your hard-earned cash. Do your detective work and visit other sites operated by your chosen builder to verify the quality of build. You may get a 10 year builder’s guarantee on completion, but that’s not much use if he goes out of business, is it?

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